Deafening Silence
by Eevee22
Summary: Echizen Roko is Ryoma's twin brother. He's intelligent, stubborn, rude and mute. So what happens when the Echizen twins finally separate, and Roko chooses to go to Rikkaidai? My first fic, review please :) Fan art of OC by xDarkxKurokox
1. Echizen Roko

Rikkaidai Fuzoku.

A middle school based in the Kanagawa region famed for producing talented young middle-schoolers. The institute consists of state-of-the-art equipment for every subject and club, providing the necessary materials for every student to reach their full potential. Students there are constantly put under rigorous watch and examinations to ensure they are working at their absolute best.

In Rikkaidai, anything less than 100% is unacceptable.

That's at least, what he heard.

**Echizen Household**

_RING ~ RING ~ RING ~ RI-_

The black-haired kid silenced the alarm clock next to him with a firm smack, silencing it further. He groaned, but slowly sat up in his bed. He was short for a first year, he had long black hair that was angled across his face so that his left eye was hidden behind it, his cat-like right eye, the colour of molten caramel, surveyed the room, gathering his bearings.

The room was basic, blue walls, a dresser, two desks and two beds, one belonging to his brother.

He turned to look at his brother, who hadn't even stirred from the sounds of the alarm clock. He sighed inwardly, and moved out of his own bed to wake him.

This was their first day in middle school and he still refused to wake up on time.

He shook his brother's shoulder lightly. His brother groaned in response, and half turned to him with his eyes shut.

His brother looked exactly the same, with the same caramel-coloured, cat-like eyes, dark black hair and sharp features.

"Leave me alone" he grumbled, and turned to go back to sleep. The other boy sighed, and simply obeyed his request, leaving the room and allowing his twin brother to be late.

He quickly took a shower and brushed his teeth, excited for his first day of middle school.

Back in his room, his brother was still asleep, and to his request, he did not pester him any further, but quietly opened the drawers of the dresser and pulled out his Rikkaidai uniform. It was a simple uniform for such a prestigious school, just black trousers and shoes, with a white, short-sleeved shirt and a blue and white striped tie. He quickly changed and left the room without making a sound.

Downstairs, his father was reading the newspaper with a bored expression, and looked up to acknowledge him.

"Ah, Roko, you're up" he claimed nonchalantly. Roko simply nodded in response.

His father, Echizen Nanjiroh, was sprawled out on the wooden chair reading his newspaper with one hand, far too unimportant to bother using two hands. He was already dressed in his monk robes. He wasn't entirely sure how his father had become a monk, being the pervert that he is, and the fact he's a former tennis pro.

Roko walked past him to pick up a plate of toast and a glass of orange juice that was conveniently sitting on the counter.

"Your mother had to leave early for some work business, but she said good luck" Nanjiroh added when Roko had consumed the toast and juice. Roko nodded again in response, leaving no space for conversation.

"Where's Ryoma, by the way?" he asked suspiciously. Roko gave him a knowing look. Nanjiroh sighed.

"Asleep still? Does he know what day it is?" he wondered. Roko just shrugged.

"Anyway", Nanjiroh began, "since you're going to Rikkaidai you need a head start. You know which train you have to take?"

Roko nodded once. Of course he did, with Rikkaidai far away, and his parents being overprotective, he had been forced to memorize the route to the school exactly so he did not end up getting lost.

"Good" he said, "now don't do anything stupid on your first day" he added with a mischievous smile. Roko mentally rolled his eyes.

Roko walked out of the room and to the hallway, where his bag had already been prepared with his books, and a small bento box next to it. Roko warmly smiled at that. Nothing tasted better than his mother's cooking.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall**

The opening ceremony was plain, to say the least.

It was clear from the look of the principal that he had been working in this school for far too long. He had a haggard and bored expression as he welcomed the first years and so on.

It dragged on forever and Roko really wished he had his iPod and earphones, but listening to music during the headmaster's speech would be suicidal.

'_Don't do anything stupid on your first day'_

Roko sighed. How could such an old man talk for so long about the same thing every single year?

He blocked out the sounds around him and focused on scanning the crowd for anyone interesting.

No…

No…

No…

…

Roko raised an eyebrow. He managed to spot a guy in the third year section of the hall. He had the brightest pink-red hair Roko had ever seen and continually blew green bubbles of gum. His eyes were the colour of amethyst and he had an equally bored expression as the rest of the room. He sat rather slumped next to a taller guy with dark skin. He sat straight, paying undivided attention to the principal. He was completely bald and his eyes were the colour of chocolate.

Roko briefly wondered if he'd be able to see his reflection in the guy's head, but thankfully, the speech ended and the headmaster called the assembly to a close.

Now onto first period, and Roko, along with every other student, made a beeline out of the hall.

All Rikkai students were obliged to take part in one club throughout their time here, and there were meetings in those clubs first and last period every day.

Roko tried not to appear excited as he paced himself towards the tennis courts.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Roko was in the tennis courts grounds, dressed in the uniform of freshmen Rikkaidai sports club members. He stood in front of one line of five that each had eleven freshmen in. In total, there was fifty-five freshmen who had signed here.

When he had first seen the Rikkaidai captain, Yukimura Seiichi, there wasn't overly much to say about him. He had shoulder-length blue hair, clear amethyst eyes and sharp features. One could say he was handsome, with the way his jersey trailed from his shoulders like a cape, but he couldn't understand why everyone suddenly broke into whispers when he approached.

"Freshmen", came his melodic voice, "welcome to the Rikkaidai tennis club. You have no doubt joined us because of our win in the national championships, and we look forward to seeing what you are capable of. I am Yukimura Seiichi, your captain, and I will oversee your progress here", there was a brief pause.

"Before, however, we can gauge your ability, we must be certain that you are worth our time"

Roko raised an eyebrow. Did he just say that?

"So, you will all be doing practice swings and picking up balls for now" he finished.

… Was he serious!? Picking up balls!? This isn't what he signed up for! This was supposed to be the national-level Rikkaidai Fuzoku!

It was at that moment that Yukimura's gaze snapped to him, snapping him out of his rage. He stared with a penetrating gaze that warned of death beneath, but Roko wasn't concerned at all by this guy's expression, and matched it with an equally blank gaze.

"Anything you would like to say, freshman?" he asked, his voice calm and dangerous.


	2. Meeting Sanada

_Great. Just great. Now everyone is staring._

It was true, the moment Yukimura spoke to him, every head turned to him and looked like he had just committed sacrilege. So what? Shouldn't they be doing more useful things than picking up balls? How could you respect someone who orders you to slave around all day?

But it was immediately clear that in fact, all of the tennis club members _did _respect him. Why? They'd never even met him.

Roko turned back to Yukimura, who was still looking at him expectantly. He could see in his eyes that he wasn't offended by his reaction. In fact, he seemed amused by it. There was a strange glint in his eyes, and Roko wondered if he was trying to bore through his head with his stare.

He shook his head as an answer.

Several freshmen gasped.

He turned back to them with a raised eyebrow. What were they gasping for? Is this guy really so important that they'd gasp if he didn't give a verbal answer? He was just the tennis club captain. It seemed like the freshmen practically worshipped him.

Yukimura's smile didn't falter.

"No, please, share with us your thoughts" he said softly. There was a long period of silence.

Wonderful, now the situation was even worse. Roko understood immediately that it was now impossible to get out of this unscathed.

Every single head was now looking at him, half expectant and the other half terrified, maybe even pitiful.

Knowing that whatever he did would result in punishment, Roko gave in and simply shook his head again.

There was an even louder gasp, from everyone this time.

Yukimura still angelically smiled, though Roko could see he was now becoming dangerously amused rather than just plain amused. The barest change in his expression made Roko feel cold.

In an instant, the tall capped guy appeared between Roko and Yukimura, and powerfully backhanded Roko. He fell to the ground in an instant.

_What the hell? Did he just slap me?_

"Tarundarou!" he roared, suddenly furious, "how dare you refuse to speak to Yukimura!"

Roko's cheek stung from the force of the slap.

_Is this happening? Am I being slapped for not speaking? Who slaps their club members!?_

Roko looked up from my sprawled position on the ground. The capped guy loomed over him, now looking like a building. It was clear he was in a position of power in the tennis club. From his brief research, he learnt that there was the captain position – belonging to the angelic demon over there – and the vice-captain position. If he had to guess, it belonged to this hot-headed capped guy. Why are the captain and vice-captain such wierdos?

He mentally sighed and stood up again, matching the capped guy's glare with his own hollow expression.

This time, everyone started muttering to each other quietly, but Roko heard things along the line of 'he just defied the Child of God!' and 'Sanada-fukubuchou will kill him!'

'Sanada-fukubuchou' looked absolutely furious at Roko's defiance – even though he hadn't really done anything wrong.

"100 laps around the court!" he barked. People began snickering around him, but Roko couldn't help but mentally smirk while keeping his mask in place.

_100 laps? At least give me a challenge,_ he thought

Roko didn't hesitate to take off, the tennis club members clearing the way for him, snickering as he passed them.

He didn't care. It may be his first day but this light punishment didn't bother him. He was more interested in how the rest of the day would go. He had just begun first period after all.

_And who's this 'Child of God'?_ he wondered.

**Rikkaidai Fuzkou Regular Clubhouse**

After the freshmen had been welcomed, as tradition goes, the regulars assembled in the club house to discuss the District Tournament they would play in, and the new freshmen with possible potential. The main point of the freshmen welcoming speech was to scout any who looked like they could be of use to this tennis club, and Yanagi would put those freshmen under watch to see if they could be potential regulars.

However, no one was in the mood to discuss that. After the defiance of Yukimura from an unknown freshman, it seemed no one could talk about a tournament they would win, or other freshmen.

"I can't believe he refused to talk to you, Buchou!" Kirihara Akaya exclaimed, his rage barely held in check. When he had seen how he had defied Yukimura, he wanted to kill him for that. No one insults Yukimura-buchou and gets away with it!

"Calm down Akaya" Yanagi said softly, "you're overreacting"

"Yanagi's right" Jackal added, "you're getting way too angry over this, the kid just didn't speak. I probably wouldn't speak if Yukimura glared at me like that" That seemed to calm Akaya down, but he still had a small scowl.

"I thought he was interesting" Marui chirped, blowing on his apple bubblegum. Yanagi nodded once.

"He certainly was, I've never seen anyone stare at Yukimura like that. He probably has never heard of him" Yanagi said.

"That does not excuse his attitude!" Sanada proclaimed.

Sanada had nearly killed that freshman for such an insult to his captain. Yukimura had been the captain of the tennis club since his first year, and brought his team to the nationals and won every year. He deserved far more respect than this arrogant freshman had given him. It made Sanada want to scream in rage how infuriating his lack of respect for the prestigious captain was.

"Sanada" Yukimura said once. Sanada immediately silenced, and instead pulled his cap down and muttered inaudible things to himself.

"You need to relax, ~ puri", Niou remarked with a smug grin, "he's the only freshman here with guts"

"That's true" Yagyuu agreed, sat next to Niou, "he's definitely unique compared to the other freshmen. Half of them nearly broke down in tears when Sanada screamed like that" No one disagreed, it was true, every freshman except for him looked terrified when Sanada attacked him.

"Hmmm" Yukimura wondered, "he will certainly make things interesting". Yukimura noticed how Sanada's scowl deepened at that, but he said nothing.

_Yep_, he decided,_ things will definitely be interesting from now on_

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

By his fifth lap the freshmen had already begun practicing their swings. It was painful to watch how some of them failed to even hold the racket correctly, let alone swing the racket right. How was it humanly possible to swing a racket wrong anyway?

Roko took his time doing his laps, lightly jogging and keeping a slow pace. He figured if he ran the laps and ended it quickly, he'd just have to practice swings and pick up balls for the rest of practice, so laps sounded far more preferable. Roko had decided on his third lap that the captain's orders had to be followed to stay in the tennis club. It was difficult to swallow, especially since he was demoted to such menial tasks, but he enjoyed tennis more than most things in his life, so he decided he would bear it for now.

Roko fell into the pattern of his steps, rhythm and breathing.

_One, two, breathe. One, two, breathe. One, two, breathe._

With this, time passed before he even realised it, and he suddenly realised he was on his 93rd lap. He wasn't even tired, thanks to his large amount of stamina and steady pace.

"Oy, freshman! Enjoying your laps?" a voice called from the courts. Roko turned his head to see a second year smirking at him with a group of other second years similarly smirking behind him. They obviously thought he got the shorter straw.

But, he was actually enjoying his laps. It helped him think, keeping this slow pace and compared to picking up balls, Roko would rather run laps any day.

So he nodded in response.

The second year spluttered, not expecting that answer before recovering quickly.

"We'll assign you more if you like" he called boastfully.

_Do whatever_, Roko thought as he continued on, leaving the second years behind in their metal mesh cage.


	3. English Class

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Niou_ had_ to talk to this guy.

He, the famous trickster of Rikkaidai, had overseen many schemes and plans in order to prank Sanada and the other club members. He had many shining moments – including the famous prank which resulted in Akaya admitting himself to hospital, when he had only drank a few of Yanagi's 'borrowed' Inui juices that Niou had mixed together and replaced with his water bottle. It was interesting how many different colours Akaya's face turned before he passed out. Niou didn't think it was possible that a drink could make someone pass out, it tasted that bad. For nearly a month afterward, Akaya always checked any liquids he was about to drink for potential Inui juice. It was fun how paranoid he got about it.

Sanada had yelled at him a lot about it, but he was nowhere near as pissed as he was today.

It was then that Niou realised the ultimate way to piss of fukubuchou – insult Yukimura.

At first, Niou was angry because of how blatantly simple it was. All this time, all he had to do was say a few words to Yukimura and Sanada would go beserk! Niou didn't prank people for the fun of it, but rather to relish in the outraged looks on their faces.

So let's just say when he saw Sanada this morning, he was floating on cloud nine.

Niou then realised it wasn't that simple. The only reason that freshman hadn't been murdered by Yukimura is because the kid had no idea who he was, and Yukimura found it kind of funny.

Yukimura wasn't the type of person to stand there and take an insult. He was a fighter, the type who would rip the insult right out of your mouth and make you regret you ever spoke to him.

In other words, if Sanada didn't kill you first, he surely would.

_No_, he decided,_ I'd sooner die than disrespect buchou_.

Which is why he had to talk to this freshman, he had the biggest guts Niou had ever seen before. To stand before Sanada-fukubuchou and stare at him eye-to-eye would promise death, but this guy still did it!

It was true, he had no clue what he was getting into, but Niou couldn't help it. He _needed_ to talk to this freshman.

So there he was sat, watching, waiting while the freshman did his 100 laps.

He took his time doing his laps, which infuriated Niou more than anything.

But neither was he an idiot. He'd played tennis long enough to know when someone is holding back. This guy was probably conserving his stamina – a smart move, considering he's under fukubuchou's glare right now. While he watched, Yagyuu sat down on the bench next to him.

"You're watching the freshman" he stated more than asked.

"Ah", Niou replied, "I want to talk to him". Yagyuu sighed loudly.

"You know Sanada-fukubuchou would kill you if you did that?" he asked bluntly. Niou shrugged.

"No, he'll just make me play a practice match against him and he'll make me wish I was dead", which was true. That was Sanada's main form of punishment, which also helped the vice-captain stay in top condition.

Yagyuu decided to not further persue the subject.

"Why do you want to talk to this freshman anyway?" he asked.

"Because he pissed off fukubuchou and that makes me happy" he said with a genuine smie. Yagyuu was taken back.

"You're happy that Sanada is torturing the first-years right now?"

"Yes" Niou replied, "Because whenever he's pissed he takes it out on the freshmen, leaving us alone"

"Ah, I see your point" there was a pause, "so you're going to thank him for irritating Sanada?"

"And congratulate him and making fukubuchou angrier than I've ever seen him before" Niou added. Yagyuu looked up.

"Well he has just finished his laps now" he said matter-of-factly, and Niou snapped his neck in the direction Yagyuu was looking to see the short, black-haired freshman drinking from a bottle of water on a bench near the courts.

"Piyo ~" Niou said, before quickly standing up.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Roko tried to ignore the fact that a third year with white hair, a weird hairstyle and a creepy grin was walking towards him, and quickly picked up a racket from the nearby pile, swiftly proceeding to the tennis courts where the freshmen were practicing their swings.

And just before he had reached the gate to the courts, another third year appeared in front of him out of nowhere. Roko immediately realised that he was the boy he saw in the opening ceremony – the one with red-pink hair. He popped a bubble of green gum before smiling at him.

"Marui Bunta" he introduced. Roko nodded once.

"And you are?" he asked lightly.

Any reply he would have made would have been cut off by the white-haired freak suddenly appearing.

"Hey, Marui, what are you doing?" he asked suspiciously. Marui's eye twitched.

"Introducing myself, can't the tensai of Rikkaidai do that?" he replied, irritated. The white-haired freak snorted in response.

"You're not a tensai of anything, Marui" he scoffed. Marui's amethyst eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What did you say" he asked sharply.

"You heard me", was the white-haired freak's response.

While the two third years were busy glaring at each other, Roko quickly slipped away, around Marui and entering the tennis courts. If the third years followed him in the vice-captain would probably punish them and send them back to their own training.

"You!"

Speaking of which…

Roko looked up to find a very angry fukubuchou glaring down at him. He looked even angrier than he was before. He clearly didn't like the idea that Roko was in his presence. Roko sent Sanada another hollow expression.

"Practice your swings. Now" he growled. Roko didn't hesitate to move towards the lines of freshmen who were swinging in unison. He stepped at the back of the line, and began to swing his racket in time with the others.

If he were in any other place in the world, Roko would have refused to do such pointless tasks that were simple even for amateurs. However, he was in Rikkaidai Fuzoku, and he knew that if he refused then his punishment would be painful. He knew it would be judging by the death-promising glare that the vice-captain sent his way.

How had it come to this? How was he_ already_ a sworn enemy of the tennis club? Roko understood the amount of respect that the entire club harboured for Yukimura, and he had understood that he had stepped over a boundary by staring him down rather than giving some indication of-

"Swing faster!" Sanada roared. There was an immediate chorus of _'Hai'_ before the pace picked up.

Roko mentally sighed. You couldn't even think when this guy was around.

This continued on for a while. Repetitive swinging back and forth, Sanada screaming at us to swing faster…

Until tennis practice was finally called to a close by Yukimura announcing that next period would start in 10 minutes.

The freshmen were ordered to gather up and tie the nets and gather any balls on the courts, which went by in a flash. Roko was walking back to the changing rooms, for once_ happy _that tennis practice had ended, when he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder.

Sanada was still glaring at him, and Roko just gazed back passively.

Sanada kicked over a basket of collected tennis balls next to him. The balls scattered in all directions, and Roko guessed there were about 120 balls.

"Collect all of them and put them back" was all he said before he walked off.

Roko sighed and just did what he was told.

He didn't need to be concerned about being late, since first period was English. Growing up in America made the subject child's play. It wasn't even worth going to, but he had to, as much as he didn't want to. So he collected the tennis balls as slowly as possible, dreading the tedious subject that was to come.

He could have not done it, he could have just left the tennis balls where they were and walked off – there was now no one there to stop him. But Roko knew he needed to be in the fukubuchou's good graces if he was to survive here.

_Is it this bad for you, Ryoma?_

**Class 3A – English**

Yukimura had had an interesting first period. Tennis, to him, was normally the quietest time he had during school, since he was left to his own devices and he could watch his team progress without interruption, since his normal fan girls were busy in their own clubs. That was different in classes. Everyone around him whispered about the 'Child of God' and stared at him wide-eyed as he spoke, as if he was some genius.

Yukimura was a good student, he had excellent grades, but he was far from a genius. A genius was someone who excelled in everything they did and was someone who was the example for others to follow. A genius was someone who is able to make their own future and do exactly what they choose because they're simply that talented. And a genius was someone who inspired others to follow in their footsteps.

While Yukimura found it hard to disagree that he inspired people, it was beyond irritating when people would literally bow before him in worship like he really was a child of God. He had stomached this for three years, and was now reaching breaking point from how often people would address him like he ruled the world. The cracks in his mask were finally appearing, and Yukimura was worried that one day he would snap.

So to him, it was the most refreshing thing in the world when one nameless freshman looked at him like he was mad, instead of sacred, and refused to speak. This freshman made him feel … _happy_, because for once someone looked at him like a regular human being rather than a god. And that was something that no one but himself could ever understand.

He would have stopped Sanada from attacking him, but Yukimura knew that what he did was rude, even if Yukimura didn't find it rude at all. He deserved what he got, but Yukimura couldn't help but feel conflicted over his punishment.

_He's the first freshman in this school to see me as a person and I allow him to be punished for it_, he thought.

There was a knock on the door that everyone looked up at. The teacher stood up quickly and walked to the door, closing it behind him. Yukimura raised an eyebrow.

A few seconds later the teacher came back in with a smile on his face.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today, having recently transferred from America" Yukimura perked up at that.

There was silence, as everyone looked up rather surprised. This class was the same in second year, and had simply moved up, so everyone in the class was well acquainted with each other. The only time students are moved around is when there's a new transfer student.

_From America? Does that mean this person is fluent in English?_ He thought.

"However, he is also mute" the teacher added. This time there was a flurry of whispers.

'Mute? Does that mean he can't talk?'

'I didn't know mute people could go to public schools'

'Is it a disease or something?'

Yukimura himself was rather surprised at that.

_A mute? Interesting._

The teacher turned towards the doorway.

"Please come in" he called

Immediately the door opened and the student walked in.

Every single student in the room was shocked.

The boy was short, with dark black hair that was styled across his left eye, his right eye bright and golden. His features were soft and he radiated an aura of cuteness, but no one was paying attention to that.

He was a first year.

The first year that Sanada punished for not speaking.

_Sanada, you punished a mute boy for not speaking_, Yukimura realised.

"This is Echizen Roko. His English grades are vastly superior to other first and second years, so the school decided to put him in third-year English. I expect you all to take care of him"

Oh, how he wished he wasn't sat behind Sanada so he could see the look on his face.

_Things are about to get interesting_.


	4. English Partners

**Hey guys, I just wanted to make a brief announcement kinda thing.**

**I'm sure by now you've noticed how quickly I've been posting new chapters. That's because I'm reaching the end of my school holidays and I'm pretty much bored all the time with nothing to do. *sweat drop***

**But in about a week, the chapters will be coming out slower as I officially start my new school! Hooray!**

**Oh, and thank you, one guy who reviewed my fic. Your comment means alot :)**

**Class 3A - English**

Sanada Genichiro was NOT having a good day.

For starters, he never liked the first day of school. It meant that he was forced to work with the freshmen, watching them fail to swing a racket over and over and over again for a full thirty minutes, each swing more agonising than the next. Then when he would stop them and show them how to hold it properly, and they would nod and hold their rackets in the exact same way as before! He could barely stand how talentless they all were.

But today… today Sanada had nearly killed _him._

That freshman – the one who had disrespected Yukimura!

That kid was so frustrating he couldn't stand it. The way he looked at Yukimura like he was nothing, the way he so casually accepted his punishment and completed it with ease, the way he never spoke a word and yet spoke a thousand words with his stare!

_AGH!_

Sanada made sure that he was punished by forcing him to collect those tennis balls, but he realised that it was not enough. He was not satisfied. That freshman must _pay_.

All of his anger and frustration was building up and up and doubling in on itself until he couldn't take it anymore. He was so glad that he had the entire day until last period free of that freshman. He never wanted to see his face again.

So when the exact same freshman walked into his English classroom ten minutes later, Sanada wondered what he had done to offend God that he was punishing him in such a way.

He didn't care that he was mute, he was too angry to care. If he truly was mute then he could have at least told him.

_How? He's mute you idiot_. Sanada scowled even deeper.

_Sign language then_. But he knew that Roko knew that using sign language would be pointless considering no one would understand him, but at least they would have assumed he was deaf.

_And I would have been able to understand him_, he thought. Sanada was actually fluent in sign language, and had been since he was seven, since he had a deaf cousin that his grandfather adored to the extent of forcing Sanada to learn sign language. He wanted to make sure that his cousin had someone to communicate with.

Sanada never enjoyed sign language lessons – talking with your hands was far more complicated than it sounded. All your fingers had to be bent at the right angle to get across one word. It took years to gain the skills needed to quickly make the complex symbols with your hands, one after the other.

And his cousin had moved to Tokyo anyway, so Sanada almost never saw him, so had no use for the language.

The freshman – identified as Echizen Roko, was sent to an empty desk near the back of the classroom and walked slowly to it.

_Good, I won't be able to see him if he sits behind me_.

"Sensei" he heard Yukimura say, who had abruptly stood up. Sanada turned towards Yukimura.

"Y-yes?" the teacher asked dumbfounded, Yukimura never spoke outside of being asked questions.

"I believe Sanada is fluent in sign language, wouldn't it be better for Echizen-kun to sit next to him?" he asked coyly.

_What!? No! NO!_

_NNOOO! _His mind screamed at Yukimura.

Sanada felt his sanity slowly crumbling as the teacher turned shocked to him, nodded once, and allowed Echizen to sit next to him.

He turned back to Yukimura, and sent him the most terrifying death glare he had ever given.

Yukimura smiled radiantly in response.

**Class 3A – English**

Roko wasn't remotely surprised to see Sanada in his English class. He knew from the moment he saw him that he would end up in his third-year English class. Unfortunately, the world just worked like that.

He wasn't even concerned at how horrified he looked when he walked in, contrasting greatly with Yukimura in the middle row, who smiled as if he had just won the lottery.

He wasn't even bothered by the stares that the other third years gave him. He hoped that they would oversee his muteness and focus on the fact he was smart enough to get into third-year English, but expectantly, they did not, and suddenly whispers of 'mute boy' were heard around the classroom.

Roko had learnt from a young age that being mute came with a few benefits, but a lot of cons as a result. Being the 'mute boy' was one of them.

So he embraced the annoyance that was building up in him, and walked slowly to the back of the classroom where there was a free desk.

And then Yukimura spoke up.

"Sensei" he said, standing quickly. Roko turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yes?" the teacher replied hesitantly.

"I believe Sanada is fluent in sign language, wouldn't it be better for Echizen-kun to sit next to him?" he asked politely.

_NO!_ his mind screamed before he could think.

_Oh, of course! HE has to be the one fluent in sign language!_ He thought. Roko had already seen enough of him today, and now this? Roko didn't want to be anywhere near him.

Roko swallowed everything he wanted to say, keeping his passive mask firmly in place, and at the teacher's nod, walked towards Sanada's desk.

_Great, now I get to be with him for three periods a day_, he noted irritably.

While walking the short distance, Sanada shot him a death glare that would have sent chills down his spine had he cared.

But Roko was in no mood, so he pulled up the chair next to his new fukubuchou and sat down.

_Calm down_, he thought,_ as long as he doesn't say anything it'll be fine_.

Which thankfully, he didn't, Sanada kept staring ahead at the board, completely focused on everything on the board as if looking at Roko would cost him his life.

_He doesn't like me_, Roko concluded.

After a while the teacher seemed done explaining whatever he was explaining, and handed out work sheets for the class to complete.

As he passed Roko's desk he said quietly to him: "If you need any help with what's on the board, ask Sanada, ok?"

There it was.

That look of pity on his face. The look that meant he was judging Roko as too inadequate to understand simple English verbs and adjectives, even when he had lived in America for most of his life.

Roko had seen that face far too often in his life. Everyone gave him that same look and said the same thing over and over again, because they failed to understand that being mute does not mean you're too incompetent to speak. Roko had grown tired of that face, he wanted to silence everyone who judged him as stupid because he could not speak. He mentally sighed loudly and quickly tore a page out of his notebook, and scribbled on it, which earned a raised eyebrow from the teacher.

Roko then held up what he wrote, written in perfect English.

_MUTE, NOT DEAF, BLIND OR STUPID_

The teacher seemed taken aback by this, taking an actual step back as if Roko had stung him with his words.

"I… I see" he said slowly, "I understand", his voice _sympathetic_ as he turned back to his desk.

Roko couldn't help but grind his teeth in anger.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Rooftop Garden**

Roko ate his bento alone, surrounded by flowers and herbs of all kinds. Lines and lines of colourful flowers were arranged neatly, each labelled specifically with a brief summary on each.

At first Roko had wondered why on earth a school like Rikkaidai – so focused on achieving the best – would boast a rooftop garden like it did. But all doubts were immediately washed away when Roko stepped into the garden, his eye widening at the beauty of it all. He wasn't particularly interested in plants, but he couldn't help feel taken by the place, it was beautiful and quiet.

This was partly the reason Roko has chosen to go to Rikkaidai, because of the beautiful garden that was located at the top of the school to catch the most sunlight possible. As a result, all the flowers bloomed here, creating a beautiful, relaxing scene that helped Roko calm his nerves.

It had been the same for the two lessons afterward. Since all freshmen were new Roko didn't get an introduction like he did in English, but the teachers still announced to the entire class that he was mute, and suddenly everyone stared at him with that pitiful, judgemental look that he despised so much. He wanted to scream in frustration.

He thought it would be different here. He thought that in Japan maybe people would have more respect because of their culture or something. But no, they still pitied him.

His previous school in America was no better, everyone still whispering as he passed, hearing 'mute boy' over and over again.

His father had told him that eventually they would leave him alone and focus on better things, and maybe Roko himself would stop caring. In a way, he had stopped caring, but he couldn't deny that it still hurt deep inside him when someone would look at him like he was a ghost.

Roko finished his bento box, realising that he was so distracted by his own brooding he didn't even notice how it tasted.

He mentally sighed and put his box back into his bag.

Suddenly the door at the stairs swung open, and Roko looked up to see two very familiar third-years.

Without warning, the white-haired freak and Marui Bunta attacked, quickly snatching Roko into their arms and dragging him away against Roko's mad struggles.

_What the hell!? What are they doing?_ He thought as he tried to pry the white-haired freak's arm loose.

"Come on" Marui chirped, "You're going to eat lunch with the regulars"

_Wait what? The regulars? These guys are regulars?_ Roko thought as he was dragged away by the two freaks, leaving his bag behind.


	5. Samurai Junior

**I apologize for the suckiness of this chapter, but I felt like actual conversation was needed. Sorry :(**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

Yanagi Renji wasn't the type of person to overreact about things. He was the quiet type, the type who evaluates things from the background, taking logical data and evidence and constructing a valid hypothesis.

So when he, like the rest of the regulars, heard of the famous mute regular that Sanada had tortured, Yanagi could not help but want to know this freshman better, despite his habit of indirectly collecting data. He wanted to gather data on him, because the most difficult nuts to crack were always the most satisfying in the end. And this Echizen Roko seemed far tougher to crack than Sanada and Yukimura put together, for the simple reason that he could not verbalize his reactions.

Yanagi knew that his habit for wanting to know about people was worrying; some may call him a stalker for it. But there was something about this freshman that made people want to know more about him – Niou and Marui were prime examples of this strange phenomenon.

When Yukimura and Sanada approached them at lunch, and Yukimura heartily announced that the boy Sanada had been torturing was mute, it was as if a light bulb went off simultaneously in everyone's head. The first reaction was an immediate lecture to Sanada, everyone – especially Jackal, since he was practically the mother of the team – dismayed at how Sanada actually punished a mute boy for not speaking.

Afterward, Kirihara had a sudden realisation, and instead of hating the freshman for disrespecting Yukimura, he suddenly wanted to apologize to him for assuming he was just outright rude. Yanagi himself agreed that the freshman was intolerably rude to his captain, but he could not help but feel sympathy after he had learnt that he was mute.

So, everyone aside from Sanada – who had no say in the debate – agreed that they needed to talk to this freshman, and so Niou and Marui were off before they could even suggest where he might be.

And so, they were now sat quietly under the largest cherry blossom tree in the school grounds, waiting for Niou and Marui to return with the coveted freshman.

"Buchou" Kirihara said after a moment's silence.

"Yes?" Yukimura replied softly.

"You said Echizen was in your class, but isn't he a first year?" he asked innocently. Yanagi paused; he too was interested why the freshman was in a third-year class.

"Ah, that's because he grew up in America, so is fluent in English" Yukimura replied.

"Wait, seriously!?" Kirihara cried. Yanagi had already reached for his notebook and was now scribbling furiously. How had he not seen this? How did he not know that this Echizen Roko was fluent in English? And mute, at that. It seemed Yanagi had nothing on this freshman, and this precious data being revealed in front of him was just frustrating.

"It's no surprise really" Yagyuu replied casually, "In fact I'm rather shocked the school made him take English when he's already fluent"

Yanagi looked up at Yagyuu, who sat in the shadows of the tree, his face perfectly passive.

"How are you not surprised by this, Yagyuu?" Yanagi inquired. Yagyuu half-turned to Yanagi.

"He just seemed like the type of person with a lot of secrets" he replied casually, as if that made perfect sense. After that the conversation died on the spot, with Yanagi unable to formulate a reasonable reply to that. He instead turned his attention back to his notebook and scanned it quickly.

_Echizen Roko._

_Height -5'2_

_Weight - _

_Age – 12_

_Blood Type –_

_Birth Date –_

_Eye colour – Golden_

_Tennis style –_

_Previous achievements –_

_Favourite food –_

_Hobbies - _

…

_So many blanks_, Yanagi realised. Outside of this information, he had nothing on the freshman. Nothing.

This was the first freshman Yanagi had ever encountered where he could not read him. That was his special talent, being able to read people and understand them at a glance. But when he looked at Echizen, he saw… _blank_. That's how he'd describe the freshman - a blank canvas, waiting to express himself in his own way.

_He can't express himself, he's mute_, he thought. The realisation made him scowl, it seemed getting data on this freshman would be harder than he thought.

A few minutes later, there was a shout, and everyone looked up to see Niou and Marui literally dragging Echizen across the ground towards them. From where Yanagi sat, he could see Yukimura's smile falter for half a second before it returned to its usual radiant expression.

After Niou and Marui had finally reached their destination, they dumped Echizen on the ground in front of them, and then sat down casually as if they hadn't just dragged a freshman against his will across the entire school grounds. Echizen, for his part, looked like he had been through a lot. His hair was scruffy and generally all over the place, though his left eye was somehow still hidden, and his uniform was dusty and spotted with tiny pebbles, though by the looks of things, he seemed to have stopped caring, and just stood up and dusted himself off and sorted his hair as if nothing had happened.

Yanagi couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Echizen quickly scanned the people around him, until his eyes landed on Sanada and narrowed dangerously, and Sanada returned it with his trademark death glare. Everyone could feel the friction between the two, and Yanagi imagined bolts of lightning meeting in the centre between them.

He then abruptly turned to Yukimura, folded his arms and raised an inquiring eyebrow at him – likely assuming he had orchestrated the whole thing. Yukimura just smiled.

"If you're wondering why Niou and Marui dragged you here, Echizen-kun, it's because we wanted to meet you" he said. Echizen raised an eyebrow at him. He then lifted his two hands and made quick, sharp gestures. Everyone looked at him confused, and Yukimura turned to Sanada.

"What did he say?" he asked softly. Sanada glared at Yukimura, clearly not wanting to act as Echizen's interpreter, but he quickly gave in under Yukimura's smile.

"I thought we had already met this morning" Sanada translated. Yukimura turned back to Echizen with a raised eyebrow.

"It seems you haven't forgiven me for that" he stated. Echizen just shrugged.

"Well then" Yukimura continued, "how about I give you some of my food as a peace offering?" he asked, producing his bento from his bag that he had yet to eat.

Echizen made more gestures.

"I ate my lunch on the rooftop before your teammates kidnapped me" Sanada said. Niou and Marui flinched at the word '_kidnapped'_. Yukimura's smile didn't falter.

"In that case, why don't you sit with us? We can get to know you better" he offered. Though it sounded like a simple offer, Yanagi knew that Echizen didn't have a choice in the matter. Echizen though, didn't seem to notice, shaking his head and making more gestures.

"I have to get my bag back if I want to be on time for my next lesson" Sanada translated. Yukimura turned to Niou and Marui.

"You left his bag behind?" he asked softly, but everyone could sense the venom beneath his words, and the two paled in an instant.

They both abruptly stood, "We'll go get it, buchou!" they chorused, before they disappeared.

Yukimura chuckled slightly, and gestured for Echizen to sit down. Realising he had no other choice, Echizen complied and sat between Jackal and Kirihara. Kirihara then leaned forward.

"So you're the mute freshman" he began, inspecting him closely, and then held out his hand in greeting.

"Kirihara Akaya, nice to meet you" he said politely. Echizen nodded and shook his hand.

"Sorry about before, I didn't know you were mute, so I got really angry when you said nothing to buchou" he apologized quickly. Yanagi blinked. Akaya never apologizes to anyone other than Yukimura. Echizen just nodded his head in acknowledgement, and looked at Yanagi.

"Yanagi Renji" he said simply. Yagyuu then leaned forward out of the shadows of the tree.

"Yagyuu Hiroshi, it's nice to meet you at last, Echizen-san". Echizen nodded again in acknowledgement, and finally turned to Jackal.

"Jackal Kuwahara" he introduced simply. Echizen nodded once more, and then turned to Yukimura making more gestures.

"Why did you want to speak with me?" Sanada translated. Yukimura smiled.

"Because we find you very interesting, Echizen-kun" he replied softly. Echizen raised an eyebrow. More gestures.

"Because I am mute?" Yukimura paused.

"Partially, yes" Yukimura replied, "but also because most of the team were impressed with how much you annoy Sanada" he stated matter-of-factly. Yanagi could hear Sanada splutter in the background. Echizen frowned and made several gestures.

Everyone turned to Sanada for a translation, but he only glared at Echizen.

"Sanada?" Yukimura asked politely. Sanada scowled.

"It didn't help that you put me with him in English" he said. Yukimura's smile grew by a few millimetres.

"I believe it was for the best" he replied with utter conviction. Sanada started mumbling to himself, and Echizen made no move to communicate further. Yanagi took this moment to gather data.

"Echizen" he began, and Echizen turned his head to him, "I was wondering if you could tell me something" Echizen nodded.

"I have heard your name somewhere, but I can't quite remember where" he said nonchalantly. Everyone raised an eyebrow at that, and Echizen just rolled his eyes. He then made some more gestures. Sanada's eyes widened, and then hesitated.

"You're probably thinking of my father, he's a former tennis pro" he translated. There was a long period of silence, in which everyone gaped, aside from Yukimura and Sanada. Echizen just rolled his eyes again.

Kirihara practically leapt forward, "S-seriously!?" he asked. Echizen just nodded.

Something clicked in the back of Yanagi's brain, and he gasped. Everyone immediately looked at him.

"Echizen Nanjiroh. The tennis pro who won three of the four grand slams in the world, nicknamed 'The Samurai' because of how he held his racket like a katana when he played seriously. He would have moved on to conquer the Australian Open, but he suddenly disappeared from the tennis world fourteen years ago" Yanagi stated in one breath, and gasped for air.

Echizen was the son of Echizen Nanjiroh! His father was a former tennis pro! Yanagi had just stumbled upon the biggest gold mine of data he could ever discover. Suddenly he was writing furiously in his notebook, nearly tearing the paper as he did.

There was utter silence as he wrote, aside from the scratching of his pencil. Kirihara, Jackal and Yagyuu gaped at Echizen like he was the tennis pro himself, Yukimura smiled even more radiantly than usual, and Sanada looked off in a different direction, not paying attention.

They would have said more but suddenly Niou and Marui appeared out of nowhere, both leaning on their knees as they panted heavily and sweated profusely, with Echizen's bag in Marui's hand.

Echizen stood up and quickly scooped the bag from Marui, before turning to the group and making a few quick signs before walking away.

"I'll see you at practice" Sanada translated.

**Good? Bad? Awful?**


	6. First Day Blues

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

If there was one thing Roko hated even more than being called 'mute boy', it was the attention that resulted from the name. He couldn't stand it whenever he walked past and _literally everyone_ in the tennis club stared at him. He would rather be labelled 'mute boy' when people's backs are turned, whispering in groups, rather than everyone staring at him with a curious intensity.

It wasn't that people's stares made him nervous – that would mean he cared about their opinions – but being under the spotlight was the one thing he hated more than anything. He didn't want their attention, he didn't need it. Attention seekers are those who are deprived of attention because no one really wants to start a conversation with them. But Roko was the opposite of an attention seeker, because while attention seekers were ignored, he was focused on like he was the centre of the universe.

And that was what irritated him. They looked at him because he was mute, they looked at him like he was an exhibit at a museum, because for some reason they couldn't help but find it fascinating that someone was unable to talk. He was an alien to them.

He wasn't a human to them.

And that was the big disadvantage of being mute - social prejudice.

Roko tried to blend in the best he could, swinging his racket back and forth along with the other freshman at a steady pace, since Sanada had left to scream at his own team. Inwardly Roko was ecstatic about not seeing Sanada this period, his relationship with him had not improved at all. But Roko knew that Sanada was the only person in the entire school who knew sign language – because the world is just cruel – so in a way he had to develop a good relationship with him, since there was literally no one else he could communicate with.

He utterly despaired when he came to that realisation. He did want to clean the slate with Sanada, but it seemed every time Roko looked at him Sanada would look back at him with an expression like he had just murdered his cat. This message was clear as writing in the sand, and so Roko had no choice but to give it time, because it was either give up and spend the rest of middle school alone, or befriend his new arch nemesis.

Roko knew that Sanada was still punishing him for his ill treatment to Yukimura. It seemed that Sanada knew he was mute, but didn't care. He was just the type of person who didn't let things blow over so easily. Roko himself never disliked Sanada for his 100 lap punishment; he knew that he should have given some sort of indication that he could not speak, but had simply chosen not to. It wasn't a conscious decision, but more a reflex built up on years of trying to communicate with people who didn't know sign language.

Roko had also decided that he had forgiven Yukimura for the position he put Roko in. It wasn't a realisation like he had with Sanada, but rather because there was no mention of 'Echizen Nanjiroh' from anyone. That meant Yukimura had chosen not to tell anyone about his father, which pleased Roko immensely, so he had chosen to let the matter drop.

The swings had finally ended, and there was still 30 minutes left before the end of the school day. A non-regular third year who was supervising seemed satisfied with them, and nodded to himself several times.

"A five minute break, and then you're all running laps!" he called out to the freshmen.

"_Hai!_" they all chorused, while Roko said nothing.

It surprised him how quick the day had gone by. It seemed that when one thing ended, another thing began. First he was the sworn enemy of the entire tennis club – which he still kind of is, minus the regulars except Sanada – then he was Sanada's English partner, which at first he was bothered about, but then realised that Yukimura was trying to put them together so Roko had someone to talk to. The realisation made Roko sort of happy, but not really, since_ Sanada_ was his partner. Then he got kidnapped, and then he became the son of a legendary tennis pro for about 30 seconds. And now he was basically back to square one.

_Ryoma, was your first day this chaotic?_ He wondered.

**Seishun Gakuen Tennis Courts**

Ryoma, in fact, had had a pretty good day, not particularly exciting or interesting, just good.

Well, as good as a day can be with an annoying ginger next to him constantly screaming and chirping about his two years of tennis experience, and a loud brunette girl who had nothing better to do than constantly scream '_Ryoma-sama' _at the top of her lungs. And then there was some annoying reporter who basically stalked him on the tennis courts, constantly talking about 'Echizen Nanjiroh's son'.

_Then_ there were some loud-mouthed, irritating second-years who tried to con his apparent friends and succeeded, only to have Ryoma come along and sort their problem for them since they were too bad at tennis to hit a can with a tennis ball, closely followed by a meaningless tennis match with a regular that had a sprained ankle. After he had figured it out the match became pointless to Ryoma, so he simply continued in the hopes he would do something worse to his ankle and go away.

_And then_ Ryoma had a run-in with several other regulars, including a red-headed Kikumaru –something, who screamed at the sight of him and leapt on his back, sending Ryoma plummeting to the ground while the third-year bounced on top of him like nothing had happened. The third-year then swiftly decided that he was now called 'Ochibi' with no thought or shared opinions added to it, only making Ryoma want to punch him even more.

Actually, Ryoma had a pretty weird first day.

So when the bell rang and the day officially ended, Ryoma could not be happier. Before he could hear the protests of the red-head he had grabbed his bag and bolted from the courts before the captain could even dismiss them. He would probably get laps later for that, but frankly he didn't care. He just_ really _wanted to go home right now.

Thankfully, the walk home was far quieter than the rest of his day, and Ryoma had some rare peace to reflect on things.

_Roko should be at the train station by now,_ he thought to himself.

He had never liked the idea of Roko going to Rikkaidai. He said he'd chosen it because of its academic standards and high-quality sports equipment – which Ryoma had to admit, were far less abundant in Seigaku – but Ryoma had known his brother far too long to think that they were the only reasons that Roko had decided to leave. Nanjiroh had done everything he could to dissuade Roko – he explained that Seigaku is where is he first played tennis competitively and that he knew the coach well – but Roko was unmoved by it. When Roko has made a choice, it's hard for him to change his mind. He's just stubborn like that.

_Like you, you mean?_ The voice in his head asked. Ryoma scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, he never wanted Roko to leave him. They had practically been each other's shadows for most of their lives, and they were about as similar to each other as brothers could be. One would say that they were different in the sense that Ryoma is so loud and wilful, but if you knew Roko like he did, you'd see the things he wants to say in his eyes but can't. Even though Roko can't verbalise it, he and Ryoma think the same things.

When Roko chose to go to Rikkaidai, Ryoma did not protest, for the simple reason that it was pointless to. Roko would never change his mind unless he was given a very good reason to. He took a small sense of happiness that at least his mother backed Roko up, saying that Rikkaidai would guarantee a good education. Ryoma didn't think he could stand it if everyone in the family was against his brother.

Actually, what bothered Ryoma most is that they were at opposing schools. He knew that Roko was going to become a regular – with his skills on par with Ryoma's – and Ryoma knew that he was going to become a regular himself. Eventually, they would end up playing each other in an official tennis match, and Ryoma didn't like that. He wanted to be able to talk to his brother openly about everything and look at him and smile and laugh at Roko's pout whenever someone would ruffle his hair because he was the 'cuter brother' of the two. He didn't want to see Roko as an enemy on the tennis courts, but that seemed to have already begun and Ryoma knew he couldn't stop it now.

**Echizen Household**

"_Taidama!"_ he called out before depositing his shoes on the floor. Nanjiroh instantly appeared around the corner, pervy magazine in hand.

"Ah, _seishounen_, how was your first day?" he asked. Ryoma sighed.

"Weird. I got glomped by a hyper active third year, screamed at by a guy in my class about his tennis experience, and some reporter stalked me the whole day" he said nonchalantly. Ryoma proceeded into the living room and dumped himself on the couch, dropping his bag onto the floor.

"Reporter?" Nanjiroh asked, now looking up from his magazine.

"Yeah", Ryoma replied, "he really wanted to meet Echizen Nanjiroh's son". Ryoma noticed how his dad stood a bit straighter at that, and his expression changed to a scowl.

"Just ignore them, they'll go away" he said.

"I plan on that" Ryoma replied flatly. His father then grunted and walked off; leaving his son sprawled on the couch.

Ryoma just continued lying out on the couch with his head buried in it for a few minutes, not thinking or doing anything. He then heard a soft 'mew' and looked up to see Karupin rubbing his head off his bag. Karupin was a large Himalayan Spotted Cat that had white fur with a large brown spot on his face and large, beady blue eyes. Ryoma smiled.

"Karupin" he said softly, sitting up and picking the cat up and putting him on his lap. Karupin immediately curled around and lay on Ryoma's lap, and Ryoma smiled softly and stroked his head and flanks, with Karupin leaning into the touch.

"How have you been today, Karupin?" he asked sweetly. Karupin looked up and gave a loud 'mew' as a response.

"Good huh?" Ryoma continued, "Did you get into any trouble?" Karupin meowed quietly.

"Good, I hate it when you go wandering around and causing trouble" Ryoma replied. Karupin then started to rub his head off Ryoma's open hand, and Ryoma couldn't help but feel warm. But then Karupin noticed something, and started looking around the room searching for whatever he was thinking of. Ryoma sighed.

"Roko's not home yet" Karupin's head snapped towards him.

"Mew?" Karupin asked.

"He went to a different school far from here, so he'll be back later than me" Ryoma explained. Karupin didn't react; he just stared at Ryoma with those huge beady eyes and an innocent, uncomprehending look.

"I know, I don't know why either" Ryoma said, stroking Karupin's head again, who leaned back into the touch. The soft purring Karupin emitted helped lighten Ryoma's mood, but it didn't stop the feeling of doubt in his stomach that built up without the reassuring presence next to him.

_Do I actually miss him that much?_ Ryoma wondered.

**Finally! After 6 chapters I've finished the first day! This is going to take forever -_-'**


	7. The Ranking Tournament

**Finally I have more than 1 review! Thank you guys for your comments, since I didn't think the story was that interesting it was a nice change to have such comments :) Keep giving me more comments like this please! **

**And if you haven't guessed already, some of the names in this chapter were made with a Japanese name generator :P**

**Rikkaidai**** Fuzoku School Library**

It had been one week since the new year began, and Sanada was hunched over examining lists and lists of names of tennis club members, in a sea of printed papers. Papers were spread all across the desk, each with an applicant's name, grades and personal statement.

Normally, choosing players for the regulars ranking tournament would be a breeze, but unfortunately, there could only be 16 people in the tournament including the regulars, so there could only be 8 applicants.

25 people had applied, and because of this, Yukimura had Sanada personally select who would play. Normally, Sanada would select people for their skill, but Yukimura also wanted to make sure there would not be any weirdos in their team – since they had enough of them already – so he asked Sanada to also look over the personal statements they had written when applying for this school, and on top of the fact that a regular's grades must be above average to stay one. This only made the job even more tedious.

Sanada had two piles next to him – a pile of possible players in the tournament, and a pile of definite time-wasters. So far, nearly all of the applicants were – in Sanada's opinion – too weak to play in the ranking tournament, and so he had a large pile of applicants on one side.

The problem was that Yukimura wanted 8 players, and Sanada had only managed to find 5 people who would be worthy of his time.

And so, he had 5 applicants on one pile, and 19 on the other, with one last applicant in front of him.

Mainly because Sanada had no clue what to do with the last man, he put the paper aside for a moment, and went through the list of failures again. He could feel a migraine coming on as he read them, all of them saying the same thing. Just lines and lines of rambling on about how great they were at school and listening and sports, Sanada could see the lies in the black ink as if it was clear as day. He wanted to shred all of these wastes of paper and just pick the most experienced players, but Sanada knew the huge difference between skill and talent, because while the third-years were skilled, they were utterly talentless and their grades were poor.

So Sanada chose two more third-years with the best skill, ignoring everything else, and looked at the final piece of paper he had pushed away, picking it up and looking at the name, grades, and personal statement.

His grades were above average in every subject, though his skill in tennis was unexplored, and his personal statement was devoid of the lies and half-hearted truths that others had used.

'_My name is Echizen Roko. I won't lie to you, I'm not an open person, I don't have a happy personality and I'm certainly not a good talker. But I am a good listener, probably because I can't interrupt someone in a conversation, and I have grades which I hope you're satisfied with. I don't like attention, I hate it when people approach me to 'get to know me' and I especially hate it when people ask unnecessary questions. And if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm mute, so I can't answer your questions even if you ask me. But I hope that you allow me to enter this school because Rikkaidai Fuzoku has the best academic standards and achievements of any other school in the region. That's all.'_

Sanada actually chuckled slightly at his statement. Niou hadn't been exaggerating when he said this freshman was the only kid with guts. He didn't use lies or deceit to cover up his failures; he just told you what to expect, and to deal with it. Sanada wondered how the principal reacted when he read this.

_He's mute_, Sanada thought, _so at least he'd be a nice change to our loud and wilful team_

But Sanada knew nothing of the kid's tennis skills. He could be useless like the rest of the freshmen, or untapped potential.

Sanada stared at the paper for a long time. He hated this freshman, he hated his guts, and here he was with his application in hand, with full rights to deny him the spot if he wished. Sanada realised then what kind of weight was on his shoulders.

_He had enough confidence in himself to apply. If he's good enough, he'll be a regular, if he's not, he'll become a cheerleader_.

Sanada knew then he had to make a choice, selfishly deny Echizen a chance at the regular position, or give him a chance, and if he succeeds, Sanada would have to put up with him nearly every day for the rest of the year.

He didn't like either choice, but he knew he had to make one.

So he sighed, and gave the new kid a chance.

**Echizen Household**

_RING ~ RING ~ RING ~ RING ~ RING ~ RING ~ RING_

Ryoma groaned loudly and turned towards the alarm clock on the table between his and Roko's bed. He half-heartedly reached out for it and pressed down the button on the top, silencing it, before pulling himself out of bed.

The first thing that surprised him was that Roko wasn't there to turn off the alarm clock like he usually does. The second thing that surprised him was that the uniform that Roko had left hanging on the dresser was missing, meaning he was already showered and dressed. While Roko did go to a school further from here than Ryoma's, he still had plenty of time to get ready and catch the train if he woke up now. Which meant Roko was excited about something.

Ryoma smiled, knowing immediately what it was, and quickly got ready himself and pulled on his own Seigaku uniform, which was just a black jacket, a white shirt and black trousers and shoes. Seigaku had a really dull uniform, even more so than Rikkaidai.

Expectantly, Ryoma found Roko downstairs dressed and ready, drinking a glass of orange juice with an empty plate in front of him. Nanjiroh was probably in the front garden ringing the bell, and he could hear his mother talking on the phone in the other room.

"You seem excited" Ryoma commented with a smile. Roko looked up from his glass and identically smiled back at him.

"_Why shouldn't I be?"_ his hands asked. Ryoma smiled wider, it seemed when it came to tennis Roko was so full of energy.

"You don't even know whether you got in yet, after all, doesn't your vice-captain hate you?" Ryoma asked. Roko seemed unmoved by that.

"_Mada mada dane"_, his hands proclaimed. Ryoma chuckled before crossing the kitchen and grabbing his plate of food and sat down, quickly devouring the Japanese meal. Ryoma looked up to see Roko smiling at him. They both had their ranking tournament at their schools today, and Ryoma was just as excited as Roko. Roko made two short gestures.

"_Good luck"_. Ryoma smiled.

"Good luck to you too" he replied solemnly.

Their mother Rinko then appeared around the corner, she was a tall woman with long black hair, soft features and deep blue eyes, which contrasted with the golden eyes of her twin sons.

"Ah, you're both up. Excellent. I just wanted to say good luck to you both for today" she said softly. Both boys acknowledged her with a nod.

"And don't come back injured" she added with a smile, before disappearing off again. The twins smirked at that, since both of them knew that that wouldn't happen. Then they both then stood up in unison, grabbing their bags at the door and walked out. As they passed by the bell their father looked up from his magazine.

"You both better come back with a win, or no dinner for either of you!" he called over to them. Ryoma and Roko just shared a large smile. They reached the end of the garden, and into the street. Ryoma turned to look at Roko.

"I won't let you live it down if you lose" he said teasingly. Roko just smiled and made several gestures.

"_I don't plan on it"_. Ryoma chuckled at his brother's confidence.

"Mada mada dane" he said, as the brothers turned from each other and walked off in opposite directions.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Yukimura looked at the board where the blocks for the ranking tournament were posted with a small smile on his lips. Sanada had made very good choices when selecting candidates, but while some of them weren't the best, Yukimura found it hard to disagree that this would be an interesting tournament.

**Block A:**

**Jackal Kuwahara – 3****rd**** year**

**Marui Bunta – 3****rd**** year**

**Kuroske Azuki – 3****rd**** year**

**Chuugo Tadami – 3****rd**** year**

**Block B:**

**Sanada Genichiro – 3****rd**** year**

**Yanagi Renji – 3****rd**** year**

**Ayato Jin – 3****rd**** year**

**Ukito Ryuuhei – 3****rd**** year**

**Block C:**

**Yagyuu Hiroshi – 3****rd**** year**

**Daigo Kakuba – 3****rd**** year**

**Kirihara Akaya – 2****nd**** year**

**Echizen Roko – 1****st**** year**

**Block D:**

**Yukimura Seiichi – 3****rd**** year**

**Niou Masaharu – 3****rd**** year**

**Yamato Shigeyuki – 2****nd**** year**

**Etsuyo Haruka – 2****nd**** year**

Yukimura smiled inwardly at some of the choices.

_Sanada put the doubles partners against each other to test their skills in singles, while he put me with Niou so he can copy my tennis and him with Yanagi to decide who is better. I wonder how Echizen-kun will do against Yagyuu and Akaya._

There was no doubt in his mind that Echizen was confident – confident enough to apply for the tournament, but there was a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Was he doing this because he had real confidence, or because he has the blind confidence of the other players in the tournament?

Yukimura was the first to look at the board, and when other tennis club members began to crowd around the board outside the clubroom, there was a sudden uproar from them.

"That mute first year got into the tournament!?"

"No way! He hasn't even played a tennis match yet!"

"He'll get flattened by Yagyuu-senpai!"

Yukimura allowed himself to smile wider at their comments. If Roko was everything Yukimura thought he was, he would take those comments and send them right back at them.

"Buchou" came a voice behind him, and Yukimura turned to see Kirihara looking at him intently. He was very excited.

"Who am I playing?" he asked excitedly. Yukimura smiled at his behaviour, clearly looking forward to crushing his opponents.

"You're playing Yagyuu, Daigo and Echizen" he said with a smile.

"Echizen!?" Akaya cried, taking a step back, and Yukimura couldn't blame him. Akaya's expression softened.

"I didn't think fukubuchou would choose him, I mean, have we even seen him play?" Akaya asked no one in particular.

"No" Yukimura responded, "but if Sanada had chosen him it means you cannot let you guard down". Akaya looked up at Yukimura and smiled determinedly.

"I won't, buchou!" he exclaimed. Yukimura allowed himself to chuckle.

_Echizen Roko, you have definitely made things interesting_.


	8. First Game

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court A**

Marui wasn't sure what to think when it was announced that he would play his doubles partner. He knew immediately that Sanada had done this to test their skills in singles, like he constantly did when an opportunity arose. He wasn't the type of person to let people stick with what they're good at, Sanada wanted the best all-around players, in singles and doubles, which is why Sanada would always focus on your weaknesses rather than your strengths. While Marui – who had always had low stamina, could attest to how his fukubuchou's focus on weaknesses didn't work, it worked wonders with the other regulars. It seemed to Marui that he was the only person who could not get past the hurdle of his stamina, and that made him feel weak in comparison.

That's why he enjoyed playing doubles, because he could go all-out at the start and have Jackal covering him, so when Marui was exhausted, Jackal would play until he got back up. To Marui, doubles is a game where your weaknesses don't matter, because you have your partner to support you, and you just play your best knowing that you have someone watching your back. To him, Jackal was that support, in a sense he was like a protector, since whenever Marui missed a shot, Jackal was there behind him, returning it in an instant. Marui trusted Jackal utterly, and put his whole faith in him during a game.

That's what doubles was.

So playing singles against his own protector gave Marui a sinking feeling in his stomach. He no longer had that reassuring presence next to him, telling him to go all-out and not worry about a shot he missed.

But it wasn't that Marui didn't want to play Jackal – even doubles partners have to wonder who's better – in fact he was kind of excited about it, but it was the fact that he was alone. Yukimura often described them as a skyscraper, Marui was the tower that reached to the top and took the gold, and Jackal was the foundations that stopped the skyscraper from toppling.

_What kind of building can hold without foundations?_ Marui had to wonder.

Jackal was the support who stood at the back and returned shots, and Marui dived and attacked at every angle at the net.

Marui knew if he did what he normally would he would lose all of his stamina and lose to Jackal, but Jackal could just continue doing what he was doing because his doubles play could easily be used in singles. Jackal realised this too, and so they both knew that the winner would be who exposes their opponents' weaknesses first.

Jackal may have a lot of stamina, but he was slow, and preferred to stay at the back, so shots near the net would work against him.

Marui had less stamina, but was fast enough to catch up to them, so making him run around would guarantee a win.

Now they had to prevent those things from happening.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court C**

No one was here.

Roko's match against Daigo Kakuba was about to begin and no one was here. He wasn't particularly shocked, since the tennis club members severely underestimate him, it probably wouldn't be a match worth watching to them. They were probably watching Court A where Marui and Jackal were playing, and then they'd move to Court D where Yukimura would play Niou, and then Court B where Sanada would play Yanagi, which meant he could utterly destroy his opponents and he wouldn't attract any attention with no witnesses at all.

Excellent.

Daigo, who stood at the opposite side of the court, tying up the laces on his shoes, seemed to be underestimating Roko as well. He could tell by the swagger he had when he walked in and the sneer he had sent at him. Roko couldn't blame him, since most freshmen here were too unskilled to even swing a racket properly, and he had never played a game to show off his skills. Daigo Kakuba was a tall third-year with short sandy yellow hair, a rather pointy nose, deep green eyes and a sharp chin.

"Let's get this over with!" he called across the court, having picked up his racket and approached the net. Roko smiled inwardly.

_Better finish him quick before anyone arrives to watch the match_, he told himself. Roko walked towards the net, racket in hand, and stood in front of Daigo. Daigo looked down on him with a jeering expression, clearly not expecting a challenge at all.

_Did Sanada put such a cocky guy with me for a reason?_ Roko wondered.

"The game between Echizen Roko and Daigo Kakuba will now begin!" the umpire called from his chair, "Please shake hands"

Roko and Daigo did so, and Daigo tightened his grip on Roko's hand.

"You're going to get owned, shrimp" he taunted. Roko just looked at him with a hollow expression.

_I'll finish you in 10 minutes_, he decided.

"One set match, Echizen to serve!"

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court D**

Yukimura watched with waning interest as Niou ran circles around Yamato Shigeyuki, a second year with a lot of potential to become a regular, but not yet. He had to admit, for a second year, the kid put up quite a fight, or at least a struggle, since Niou only let one shot get past him.

Yukimura would play Niou next, and he had to admit he was looking forward to it. He wondered what would happen if Niou copied his yips tennis style, would he fall victim to his own technique?

_Yes_, he decided, _I am definitely looking forward to this_.

Unsurprisingly, there was very little club members watching this match. The Rikkaidai tennis club was made of elite members who had taken the championship three times, so it's of little surprise that people would only be interested in the matches where regulars play regulars. If Yukimura had to guess, the first attraction would be Court A where Marui was playing Jackal, and then it would be onto Court D where Yukimura would play Niou, and then to Court B to watch The Emperor play The Data Master.

Yukimura himself was looking forward to watching that match, but it seemed that there was almost no interest in Court C at all. Some may watch Akaya play Yagyuu, but no one would bother watching Echizen-kun play with so many more interesting matches.

While Yukimura didn't know Echizen that well, he understood that he loathed attention, and so was probably basking in the moment right now.

_I wonder how he will do. Will he defeat Daigo?_

Of course he couldn't focus on the freshman right now, since he had his own matches to worry about. It wasn't that he was concerned about the matches, but Yukimura believed that you shouldn't play tennis if you don't go all out from the start. He couldn't afford to be distracted in order to obtain flawless victories. That was his mind-set.

And yet his thoughts kept wandering back to the freshman. Yukimura desperately wanted to see how he would play, but he knew that he couldn't leave with his match right around the corner.

Yukimura Seiichi is never late.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court B**

The Data Master watched with an amused smirk as The Emperor's opponent was literally on the ground begging for mercy as ball after ball flew past him at amazing speeds. Sanada Genichiro never held back.

Yanagi knew that Sanada had orchestrated this entire thing so he and Yanagi could play against each other. In fact, Sanada had done a fantastic job choosing the players for each block, making sure there was always an interesting match going on. But looking back on it, Yanagi had to wonder what his motivation for this was. By the looks of things, there wasn't many interesting matches going on in Court C. While Yagyuu was going to play Akaya soon, some may go to watch, and then leave when the match is finished for Yukimura and Niou's match.

If he didn't know any better Yanagi would say he had manipulated the matches so Echizen would have no spectators.

He smirked devilishly, Sanada was actually far craftier than he appeared to be, behind his blunt personality and stoic body language, he actually had a rather complex mind, and often thought about things no one else would consider.

Sanada was like Echizen in that respect, they both hid behind their facades and blunt personalities, while their minds worked in ways no one would guess by looking at them. Yanagi would include Yukimura in that list, but Yukimura was a more straight-forward type of person, he only focused on winning and nothing else. It made Yanagi kind of smile at the thought that maybe their fukubuchou was smarter than Yukimura after all.

Yanagi knew very well of the friction between the vice-captain and the freshman, and yet Sanada had still done all of this for Echizen. Sanada was a rather soft person once you got to know him, and Yanagi wondered if Echizen had brought out that side in him. It could also be that Sanada wants Echizen to work to his full potential, so he allowed no distractions during his matches. That was the more likely choice, because Sanada despised players who did not play their absolute best.

But then again, Sanada was a rather crafty individual.

Yanagi mentally smirked as Sanada's match ended, and his opponent walked away in tears. Yanagi stood gracefully with his racket, taking off his own jersey before facing his opponent, who paled at the sight of him.

_I'm not going to hold back either_, he decided. He _really_ wanted to play Sanada already.

"One set match, Yanagi to serve!"

Yanagi threw the ball in the air, climbing higher and higher as it went.

_Echizen Roko, you are a very interesting individual._

And Yanagi smacked the ball with all his strength.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court C**

Eight and a half minutes.

That's how long it took to beat Daigo Kakuba, who was currently on his hands and knees, sweating buckets and panting like a dog. Roko felt no satisfaction in his win, simply because there was no challenge to it. The third-year had not even got a single ball past him. He had given everything in the match because he saw no reason of holding back and analysing his opponent's play, there was so many holes in it he didn't even need to think about where to hit the ball, because this guy couldn't hit them back anyway.

He mentally sighed in frustration and left the courts, leaving the gasping third-year and the gaping umpire alone while he got a drink of water.

He sat on the bench sipping his water for a long while before he heard footsteps.

Yagyuu appeared next to him, looking at Roko with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't think you'd be finished by now, how long did it take?" he asked bluntly. Roko put down his bottle and raised eight fingers. Yagyuu actually gasped.

"Eight? You beat him in eight minutes!?" he asked sounding exasperated. Roko nodded once, and Yagyuu's lips pressed together in a hard line.

"I see", he said after a while, "I knew you would win this match, but never so easily". Roko actually smiled at Yagyuu; at least someone had faith in him.

"Well then" he continued, "I look forward to our match, Echizen". Roko frowned.

_What? Oh yeah, Yagyuu's my next opponent, _he realised. Yagyuu turned away from Roko.

"I'll go register your score on the board, and then we'll have our match" he promised, and walked away.

Roko smiled eagerly and sipped some more water.

**I'm sorry there's no actual matches in this chapter. Next chapter for sure! :P**


	9. Echizen vs Yagyuu

**Am I updating too often? I'm still off school so my target is one chapter a day, but I don't know if that's too fast, it kinda kills the suspense of the next chapter. Meh.**

**Rikkaidai**** Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court A**

"Game and match, Jackal Kuwahara! 7-6!"

Jackal tried to maintain his dignity by standing up straight after such an intense match, but it seemed impossible, and he supported himself on his knees, breathing heavily and looking over to Marui, who was worse for wear. He was on the ground, gasping for air, his red-pink hair matted with sweat and he was looking up at the clouds.

The match had dragged on for just over half an hour, and Jackal was glad that it had finally ended. He was surprised at how much of a fight Marui put up, he expected the pink-haired tensai to collapse after the sixth game, but he kept on going and attacking until Jackal was on the defensive. If he hadn't tripped and fell on the last shot he probably would have won.

Jackal sighed to himself, entirely unsatisfied by his victory, but at least it was over now. Jackal went to the bench on the side of the court and picked up his water bottle, emptying the whole thing in one drink, and wiping his face of sweat with a towel.

Marui seemed to pick himself up after a while, and practically dragged himself to the bench where Jackal was sat down. He too gulped all of his water down and then threw himself on the bench and groaned loudly.

Jackal was honestly guilty about the match. His doubles partner was his best friend, and he felt kind of sad seeing Marui practically dying next to him, smothering himself with a towel. He knew that it was irrational to feel bad for Marui, considering he was his opponent, but Jackal couldn't help but wonder if maybe he should have held back.

"Jackal" he heard a weak voice from under the towel. Jackal turned his head towards the headless teenage boy.

"Yeah?" he asked tightly, unable to see his partner like this.

"Food" Marui groaned. Jackal stopped for a moment, expecting something else, and then started chuckling to himself. Even when Marui was on the edge of death he wanted food. Jackal supposed that that was why he liked Marui, he always had that comical side to him whatever is going on. Jackal reached into his bag and pulled out a small paper box, which contained several honey-glazed muffins he kept for emergencies – mainly to pacify Marui. Marui removed the towel from his head and looked up, his amethyst eyes getting larger at the sight of the cake.

Jackal passed one of the muffins to Marui, who snatched it and quickly devoured it without a word spoken. Jackal smiled to himself and took a muffin of his own, taking small bites out of it while watching Marui's expression turn from dead to overjoyed as he ate his muffin. Marui was honestly hilarious when he was like this.

"That was a good match" Marui said when he finished the last of his muffin.

"It was" Jackal agreed without hesitation. It had been one of the best matches he'd ever played, even if it wasn't an official match. Marui sat up, his childlike smirk back in place.

"Can we have a rematch sometime? I need to get my revenge on you now" he asked casually, and Jackal looked up from his own muffin in shock.

"Sure" he replied hesitantly. Marui then gave a million-watt smile and his eyes burned with a fiery intensity, and suddenly Jackal felt unsure about accepting his challenge.

"Are you going to eat that?" Marui asked coyly, leaning forward and gesturing to Jackal's half-eaten muffin. Jackal looked at it for a while and then sighed, handing it over to Marui, who smiled like a child in response and ate the muffin quickly.

"Thank you" he said somewhere in between bites.

Jackal could only smile in response.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court C**

Roko watched Yagyuu intensely as he stepped onto the court with a tennis racket in hand. Yagyuu looked up at Roko and stared for a while, a strange glint appearing in his glasses, which he pushed up the bridge of his nose before taking position on the court. They then both stepped forward and shook hands.

"I wish you good luck, Echizen-kun" Yagyuu said in his gentlemanly ways. Roko nodded in response. He then held up his racket and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Yagyuu, which he immediately understood.

"Smooth" he replied coolly. Roko nodded and spun the racket on the ground, landing on the rough side.

"Your serve" Yagyuu stated with a nod, Roko moved back to the baseline and Yagyuu took position.

"One set match, Echizen to serve!" the umpire called.

_Don't use your tricks yet,_ Roko told himself. He threw the ball up into the air, waited, and hit it with about half his strength. Yagyuu took a casual step to the left and backhanded the ball, sending it towards the corner of the court. Roko moved slower than usual, just barely reaching it with his racket and sending it to the opposite corner on Yagyuu's side. Yagyuu moved quickly and caught the ball, sending it to the right corner. Roko would have reached it, but he didn't want to reveal everything yet, so he didn't move and allowed the ball to pass.

"0-15!" the umpire called. Roko looked back to Yagyuu, who pushed up his glasses again.

"It seems your weakness is speed, Echizen-kun" he stated. Roko tried not to smirk.

_You have no idea how wrong you are_.

Roko took position and hit a weak serve again, Yagyuu sending it towards the opposite corner again, expecting him to volley it back to his corner, but Roko instead lobbed the ball. Yagyuu watched as the ball climbed higher and higher, and smiled, jumping in the air to smash the ball. He sent it hurtling towards the ground, but then Roko was there, swinging his racket underhanded, and hitting the ball just before it hit the ground, sending it hurtling back across the court before Yagyuu could recover from his smash. Yagyuu paused when he hit the ground, studying Roko for a while.

"15-all!"

"That was the Rising Shot" he claimed. Roko's face remained passive, and Yagyuu gave him a quizzical look.

"Interesting, countering a smash with the Rising Shot, a brilliant idea, since the Rising Shot takes the speed of a shot and sends it right back at them" he mumbled to himself, before smiling and moving back into position.

Roko served to him again, and Yagyuu repeated the action, volleying to the corner, and Roko lobbed again. Yagyuu jumped to smash, and sent it towards the ground. Roko intercepted the shot just before it hit the ground and sent it right back at Yagyuu.

"30-15!"

_He's studying the Rising Shot_, Roko thought. He knew that Yagyuu was not the Data Master, but that didn't mean he didn't analyse his opponent's play anymore than Yanagi. But he figured that Yagyuu was doing this more out of curiosity than actual studying.

_Which means he won't smash anymore_, he realised. He then allowed himself to smirk.

_Perfect_.

Roko returned to the baseline and served again. This time Yagyuu sent the ball to the centre of the court rather than the corner, and Roko backhanded the shot towards Yagyuu's own corner. Yagyuu made it there in perfect time, sending it towards the left of Roko's court, but Roko sped up, and reached the ball before it even crossed the net, and tapped it with his racket, dropping it into Yagyuu's court with a dull thud.

"40-15!"

Roko looked up at Yagyuu, who was studying him again.

"You increased your speed" he stated, "It seems that speed isn't your weakness after all. You're holding back". Roko ignored him and returned to the baseline to serve again. He served, and it quickly became a long-winded rally than Roko didn't mind, quickly intercepting any ball that came him way with half his speed. He then decided to end it with a lob.

But Yagyuu didn't jump to smash, and instead waited for the ball to land. Roko dashed to the net in an instant, and he could see Yagyuu had noticed. Yagyuu hit the falling ball towards the corner of the court, but Roko intercepted and dropped the ball into his opponent's court again.

"Game, Echizen Roko! 1-0!"

"How clever" Yagyuu said, "if I smash the ball, you intercept it with a Rising Shot, and if I wait for it to fall, you move to the net and drop it into my court". He looked at Roko for the longest while, and Roko could see nothing behind the third-year's opaque glasses.

_Does this guy do nothing but talk?_ Roko wondered.

"Well then, Echizen-kun, I look forward to playing seriously against you" he said with sincerity, but Roko was unfazed.

_This is going to be fun_, Roko thought.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court B**

Sanada Genichiro watched calmly as Renji destroyed his nameless opponent with his Data Tennis. Yanagi had already collected enough data on his opponent, so when he moved to the left, Renji had already predicted it and sent the ball to the right. Sanada knew very well that the Data Tennis was a very useful weapon to have if used properly, and wondered if the third-year had figured out its weakness yet.

_Probably not_.

Sanada sighed. He was getting impatient. He would play Yanagi next, and he was aching to get the match started. Yukimura was currently playing Niou on Court D, and as much as Sanada wanted to see that, he knew that he had to focus on his own match. While Sanada often thought in ways other couldn't, it didn't mean he didn't have his passions and drives, and when it came to defeating Yanagi, he pursued that with a single-minded determination, winning being the only option.

He distantly wondered how the freshman was doing. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he saw potential in that first-year, and he knew one way or the other that he would win against his opponents. The goal of the tournament was to defeat at least one regular, and Sanada guessed that he would lose against Yagyuu but win against Akaya. There wasn't any sort of evidence behind it, it was simply a gut instinct he had.

He didn't even need to know how the freshman faired against the non-regular third-year. It wasn't that he was sure that the freshman would win, but rather he didn't really care about the matches of non-regulars, all he truly cared about is how his own team that he had slaved over faired.

Sanada was actually rather proud of his team at times. The match of Marui and Jackal was just one example. Yes, he had gone to watch that from the back where no one saw him, and was honestly impressed with Marui's determination to win even when he was exhausted. Though that pride vanished when Marui tripped and fell when desperately reaching for the ball, handing Jackal the match on a silver platter. He had sighed loudly, mumbling that Marui needs to work on his stamina even more before returning to his own court.

Then he returned to his court to find a third-year looking for him, saying that Kirihara had put Daigo Kakuba in the nurse's office. Sanada fumed silently for the next ten minutes over that. Kirihara was unstable and volatile at best, and Sanada was honestly considering why he had ever allowed Akaya to join the regulars. It was all Yukimura's judgement, saying that Kirihara was special and that he would make an excellent captain one day.

Sanada paled at the very thought of Kirihara taking over when they graduate. It was the only option they had, and Sanada could not stand the thought of Rikkaidai going downhill because of an incompetent captain. If that ever happened Sanada would come down on Akaya like a pile of bricks and exact his wrath. He would not allow _his_ Rikkaidai to be sullied by this unstable boy.

But as much as he wanted to argue, he knew it was meaningless, so he bottled up everything he wanted to say and watched passively as Yanagi destroyed his opponent.


	10. Echizen's Tennis

**So you know how I said that I would do one chapter a day? Yeah, well, that lasted about 6 hours -_- Look, don't judge, I'm sat at home alone bored out of my mind, so be glad I'm giving you this chapter as a gift. Two chapters in a day. You people should be happy!**

**I'll post chapter 11 tomorrow, but after that I officially start my A levels, so the posting of chapters will be kind of all over the place. Wish me luck on my conquest in fine art!**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court C**

"Game Yagyuu! 3-3!"

Yagyuu was actually very impressed with this freshman. So far he had not dropped one service game, and time and time again Yagyuu fell into his trap – The Lob Trap – as he had decided to call it. Yagyuu had examined it repeatedly, looking for a hole in Echizen's tactics, but it seemed the only way to escape the Lob Trap was to smash the ball hard enough that Echizen cannot return it, and with Yagyuu's skinny arms, that was practically impossible.

So he quickly discovered that he was playing the game at Echizen's pace.

Yagyuu sighed to himself. It seemed he had to use his techniques already. He had hoped to save them for later, or not use them at all if possible, but this freshman was too tough to not go all-out on.

He didn't continue his off-handed comments after the second game. He mostly did it as his unfortunate habit of mumbling, but it quickly turned awkward when he realised that Echizen couldn't even reply to him. It was actually pretty easy to forget, that the freshman was mute. Yagyuu didn't think of him any less for it – in fact he sometimes wished that he was mute too so Niou wouldn't bother making conversation with him – and frankly he found it rather meaningless in tennis. The only benefit that muteness brings in the courts is that they couldn't call out any sort of cocky remarks – but that was really only a benefit for his opponents.

Yagyuu returned to the baseline and got into position as Echizen bounced the ball in his left hand, threw it into the air and served at the same speed he had for the last few games. Yagyuu returned it to the corner, but Echizen was there in an instant, returning it with another lob.

Yagyuu watched the ball climb higher and higher, and a small smirk spread on his lips. Echizen noticed that Yagyuu wasn't going to smash, and he dashed to the net.

Yagyuu waited until the ball was above him, and put his left hand on his racket too. With two hands, he drew his tennis racket back like a golf club, and waited for the ball to be just above the ground before he swung his racket with all his strength, sending it hurtling past Echizen at a rapid speed before it bounced just before the baseline.

"0-15!" the umpire called. Echizen's reaction wasn't as expected. He simply looked at Yagyuu for a second, his mask firmly in place, before he turned to the baseline to observe where the ball had landed.

_He's thinking_, Yagyuu told himself, _he can't lob anymore, since I can return that with my Golf Swing._

Echizen studied the invisible line between where the ball was and Yagyuu for a moment longer before nodding to himself and returning to serve.

He stood at the baseline, and Yagyuu could tell something was different. His body language seemed more confident, and he watched the ball bounce, his eyes moving up and down in sync, before he threw it into the air. But this time, Echizen followed it by jumping into the air.

_I've seen that somewhere before…_ Yagyuu thought.

It wasn't until Echizen hit the ball in mid-air that Yagyuu realised exactly what it was.

_Twist Serve!_

Yagyuu quickly moved to intercept, watching the ball as it bounced and spun on the ground for a while.

_It's going to move towards my face_, he thought, keeping his racket close to him. But rather than launch towards his face, the ball launched straight upward.

_What?_ Yagyuu thought as he watched the ball climb higher and higher. Without even thinking Yagyuu jumped into the air after it and smashed it towards Echizen, only realising what he had done too late. Echizen intercepted the smash with another low Rising Shot, sending the ball back at Yagyuu.

"15-all!"

Echizen returned to the baseline and bounced another ball in his left hand.

_It's not Twist Serve, it's a serve that sends the ball flying upwards, baiting you to smash it. It's the Lob Trap, but in serve-form._

Yagyuu smiled despite himself. If he couldn't smash or wait for the ball to fall, he could simply return the serve with Golf Swing.

Yagyuu watched as Echizen again threw the ball into the air, hitting it in mid-air and sending it toward Yagyuu. He watched as the ball was sent flying upwards, and Yagyuu placed his racket in both hands, waiting to intercept. As expected, Echizen moved towards the net and Yagyuu smiled as he sent the ball flying towards the corner, swinging the racket like a golf club. But suddenly Echizen was there, and he casually dropped the ball into his court.

"30-15!"

_What?_ Yagyuu thought,_ how did he catch up to my Golf Swing?_ _Was he still holding back his speed?_

Echizen sent another of that strange serve his way and Yagyuu grabbed his racket with both hands to intercept. He swung the racket with all his strength towards the corner, but once again Echizen appeared and dropped it into the court.

_He was holding back_, he realised.

"40-15!"

Yagyuu couldn't help but smile. It seemed this freshman was full of tricks, which meant he couldn't hold back either. Echizen once again sent that serve his way, and Yagyuu smiled to himself.

_I'll have to use my new technique then_.

Yagyuu waited for the ball to fall, and instead swung his racket over his head with one hand, smashing the ball and sending it past Echizen at a blinding speed. Echizen's eyes widened slightly as he turned to examine the spot where the ball had landed.

_Laser Beam_.

"40-30!"

Echizen's eyebrows knitted together in thought, looking at Yagyuu with a curious intensity, and then his expression relaxed, and returned to the court like nothing had happened.

_He won't use that serve again, it's meaningless now_.

But Echizen _did_ use that serve again, jumping up to the ball and smashing it towards Yagyuu. The ball bounced high into the air, and Yagyuu waited for it to fall before delivering an overhead smash towards Echizen. Except Echizen had not ran to the net, and instead stood at the baseline.

Yagyuu watched carefully.

The Laser Beam bounced once, and then continued its path straight toward Echizen.

In response, Echizen switched his racket to his left hand. He then began to bend backwards, slowly but surely as the ball travelled towards him, Echizen bending further backward until his back was parallel to the ground, and then, in one quick motion, like a coiled spring, Echizen snapped his back and left wrist in unison, smashing the ball above his face with such a force that Yagyuu didn't see it coming. All he saw was a green blur zip past him.

"Game, Echizen Roko, 4-3!"

_That was even faster than my Laser Beam!_ Yagyuu's mind exclaimed. He turned slowly toward Echizen, who had his racket back in his right hand.

_You were holding back a shot like that?_

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

**Court D**

Yukimura had just finished his match with Niou, and as he expected Niou played amazingly, using his yips tennis successfully against him and taking four games before Yukimura pulled back. The game was truly as interesting as he expected, and Yukimura smiled at the thought that his tennis team was finally coming together.

"Buchoooouuuuu!" came a voice in the distance, and Yukimura turned to see Akaya running towards him. Akaya eventually came to a stop in front of him, leaning on his legs and panting heavily.

"Yes?" Yukimura asked softly. Akaya took a while to regain his composure.

"The freshman… Echizen… He won" Akaya gasped between breaths. Niou's gaze snapped to Akaya in an instant.

"That kid beat Yagyuu?" he demanded, and Akaya just nodded his head.

"What was the score?" Niou asked.

"Six games to three" Akaya replied.

Yukimura wasn't very much surprised by Echizen's win, in fact he was more surprised that Akaya ran all the way here to tell him. He somehow had faith in the freshman even when he knew nothing of his skills, perhaps it was Echizen's aura of confidence that made Yukimura believe so much in him.

"In that case, you should get ready for your game, Akaya". Akaya's face suddenly lit up with burning determination.

"I will, Buchou!" he said.

**Rikkaida Fuzoku Cafeteria**

Roko smiled warmly as he entered the room. He had defeated Yagyuu easily after revealing his secret weapon, though his left arm was still thudding with dull pain from the match. Since he defeated Yagyuu rather early he had about ten minutes to do anything, so he decided to check if the cafeteria was open. It was, and Roko immediately moved to the counter where a chubby old lady with a hair net was standing expectantly.

"Ah, you're that mute boy" she said when Roko stepped before her.

Roko mentally sighed, brushing off the comment and instead gesturing to a cake that was on display next to the woman. The woman nodded in understanding and picked up the cake box and took it into the kitchen, and Roko took his wallet out of his bag, and paid the lady when she returned with a slice of white-iced sponge cake with a butter cream and blueberry filling.

Roko took the cake with a huge smile on his face and sat down in the empty cafeteria, putting a piece of the cake into his mouth.

_Oh my god!_ He mentally exclaimed at how amazing the cake was. Roko then took another piece, and then another, and then another, and then another, and before he even realised it the cake was gone and Roko felt very satisfied.

Cake was probably Roko's favourite food in the whole world. He loved the texture of it, the sweet-but-not-too-sweet taste of it, and the many many different styles they came in. He knew it was rather unhealthy to eat as much cake as he did, but unfortunately he couldn't help himself sometimes. Because of this, since Ryoma had almost no sweet tooth at all, Roko was considered the cuter brother of the two, since he would happily devour any sweets put in front of him, while Ryoma would sip a can of ponta and watch Roko amusedly.

Roko often wondered if there was anyone in the world who could understand his rather disturbing love of cake. It seemed to him that people would laugh and ask '_how can you eat that so fast?'_, it was simply because Roko had a sweet tooth that was practically insatiable. He smiled warmly at the thought of more cake.

And then he glanced at his watch.

10:59

_My match with Kirihara starts in one minute!_ He realised in horror. He quickly stood up, if he ran all the way there, he could make it in time for the match! If he didn't make it in time he'd be disqualified!

And so he set off, and only took two steps.

_Or you could have more cake, _his mind suggested. Roko stopped dead in his tracks. It was true; he had already defeated Yagyuu so he was technically a regular already. It didn't matter what his score with Kirihara was, since he had already taken the spot by winning against the Gentleman. But playing against Kirihara would be an opportunity.

_Kirihara… Cake…_

_Kirihara… Cake…_

_Kirihara… Cake…_

_Kirihara… Cake…_

…

_Cake_, he decided, and went to the counter to get more of that delicious blueberry-iced cake. Kirihara could come back another day.

**Sigh. Roko! Don't you know you're going to get fat from all that cake? You're as bad as Marui!**


	11. The New Captain

**I'm starting to think that these chapters are getting progressively worse. Maybe I should take a break...**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Chaos.

That would be the word Sanada would use to describe what was happening around him. Some people were babbling incessantly, saying it was impossible, others broke down in tears at the news, and everyone was so busy crying themselves to help each other.

Sanada's anger slowly built up in him as he watched his useless tennis club fall apart. His regulars seemed to be the only ones with composure – excluding Kirihara.

It had happened on the way home after the ranking tournament when Echizen was made a regular. Sanada argued with Yukimura endlessly about it, saying it was unacceptable that he should be a regular after he missed his match with Kirihara. But Yukimura just calmly took his comments and then nodded his head once and asked if Sanada was disobeying his rules, with that cold, misguiding smile of his. Sanada could see in Yukimura's eyes that he was tired and angry and really wanted to go home, so Sanada took a step back, apologized and allowed Echizen on the team.

Yukimura then turned, took two steps, and collapsed.

He was immediately rushed to hospital, and he was currently being examined for what exactly he had. Normally if someone had collapsed they'd simply be kept in hospital for a day before they're allowed to return, but then Yukimura's parents revealed that he had had pain in his limbs for the past month, to the point where it was unbearable.

Sanada had then stormed into Yukimura's hospital room and demanded to know why he was not told of this, to which Yukimura calmly replied that Sanada would freak out and be overprotective, like he was being right now. He didn't need Sanada's help, and didn't expect the pain to get worse and simply hoped that it would pass.

So on top of Sanada's own fury toward Yukimura for not telling him, he now had to babysit his entire tennis club. _His tennis club_. It wasn't Yukimura's anymore until he returned, and Sanada was appointed captain by Yukimura himself. Sanada gritted his teeth in anger as he watched the entire club wail in agony like they were children, until he couldn't stand it anymore.

"_**TARUNDAROU!"**_ Sanada screamed at the top of his lungs, swearing he could hear his own voice echo. Immediately every single member silenced and looked at Sanada terrified.

"Yukimura may be gone" Sanada began, "But that does not mean we are weak, we are Rikkaidai Fuzoku, the national champions of middle school tennis, and none of you will sit around and cry like pathetic children! 100 laps! Everyone! **NOW!" **he roared, and every single member shot off like a bullet, terrified of their new captain.

Sanada felt a huge migraine coming, and he massaged his temples rhythmically, hoping to ease the pain, and his throat suddenly felt very sore from his shouting. His scowl became deeper and he felt so frustrated and angry he felt like he was going to explode.

He somehow felt someone next to him, and Sanada turned to find Echizen in his new yellow jersey, holding a water bottle in one hand and an aspirin packet in the other hand. Sanada raised an eyebrow but took the items without a word, quickly putting the aspirin in the water and guzzling it down, slowly feeling the pain settle.

"Why did you bring me these?" Sanada asked bluntly when he felt the pain recede. Echizen raised an eyebrow at him and made gestures.

"_You could at least say thank you"_. Sanada scowled.

"Why did you bring these?" he asked stubbornly. Echizen rolled his eyes at him, and Sanada would have killed him for that if he wasn't a regular now.

"_I keep aspirin in my bag and I thought you might need it for today"_ his hands said. If Sanada had cared at the moment he'd have probably wondered why a freshman had aspirin in his bag, but he thought nothing of it and instead turned back to the club members who were all running laps.

"_Why were they crying?"_ Echizen asked bluntly, and Sanada looked at him for a moment with light surprise - contrasting greatly to everyone else, Echizen's face remained passive and without tears.

"Because they just respect Yukimura that much" Sanada replied, "you wouldn't understand, considering you've only been here a week".

"_So have all the other freshmen"_ Echizen's hands said. Sanada paused, it was true, Echizen wasn't newer than any other first year, and still every other freshman had broken down.

"You probably don't see Yukimura as the Child of God then" Sanada reasoned. He noticed that Echizen rolled his eyes.

"_You mean that stupid nickname that the school gave him?"_ Sanada felt his anger rising, and stared into Echizen's eyes with unbridled ferocity, and Echizen matched that with his own blank gaze.

"I'm in no mood to debate with you!" he snapped, "you shouldn't even be wearing that yellow jersey!", and then Sanada stormed off, leaving a passive Echizen to stare after his captain.

And then Yanagi appeared out of nowhere in front of Sanada like he always did.

"Ah, Sanada, Echizen, I've been looking for you both. I need to speak with you" he said in his light, measured tone.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Roko watched with unrestrained amusement as Sanada relentlessly attacked the locked door before him screaming obscenities as he did.

It had started when Yanagi had wanted to speak with them both, and had led them to the clubroom. They had all sat down and Yanagi explained that he had received a call from Yukimura, saying that Roko and Sanada needed to get along better, and that the club could not function with the two glaring at each other constantly. Sanada, being Sanada, burst into outrage and exclaimed that he did not need to become friends with the freshman in order to win. To which Yanagi just sighed loudly, walked out, and said:

"I will not let you out until you two work out your differences"

And then slammed the door and locked it.

And that was how Sanada started murdering the innocent clubroom door in his hysterics.

Roko wasn't exactly happy about the fact he was locked in the clubroom with Sanada, but he too agreed that the club could not function with this rivalry going on, and Roko really wanted to be on his new captain's good side – if he had one. But right now Roko decided that intervening would be a bad idea, and instead watched as Sanada continued to beat down the door.

Roko couldn't help but pity the poor door that was literally hanging onto its hinges for dear life, and he was rather surprised at how strong Sanada was. He had successfully managed to put one hole in the door, and reached his arm around, hoping the key would be in the lock on the other side, but Roko could tell by Sanada's change of expression from hope to despair that Yanagi was smarter than that.

Roko just waited, and after more screaming and attempts to break down the door, Sanada finally relented and threw himself onto one of the benches in frustration. Roko looked at Sanada for a while, suddenly looking far older than he was, and Roko could see how the years of leadership weighed on him.

The two shared a long silence for almost a minute, which Roko didn't mind, since most of his life had been silence anyway.

He then lifted his hands, which got Sanada's attention, and he made quick gestures.

"_Why do you hate me?"_ Roko could see the slow anger that crept into Sanada's eyes.

"Because you don't deserve that jersey you wear" Sanada replied bluntly. Roko mentally sighed.

"_I defeated your teammate, it's the rules"_

"Yes, but you abandoned Kirihara!" Sanada snapped, "That kind of laziness is intolerable!" Roko tried not to roll his eyes.

"_It's already done. I'm your teammate now"_. Sanada's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And what if I kick you out of the regulars?" he asked sharply, but Roko's gaze didn't waver.

"_If you did then you wouldn't be able to play in the tournament, the rules say a team of 8 is needed"_ Roko could see Sanada's eyes widen in fury and he gritted his teeth at him.

"Yukimura will return to fill your spot before the tournament" he replied with confidence.

"_And what if he doesn't?"_ Roko's hands asked. He could immediately see that he went too far, Sanada stood up and charged at him, grabbing his jersey collar with both hands and lifting him up off the ground to eye-level with Sanada.

"You" he spat, "will not speak to your captain in such a way". Roko could see the unbridled fury in Sanada's eyes, the anger, the hate, and Roko finally understood.

Yukimura, The Child of God, was beloved by his teammates and friends, and Roko knew that Sanada was his best friend, so to see Sanada snap like that at just the thought of Yukimura not returning made Roko understand how much his teammates respected him, and it wasn't the kind of respect for someone who was simply above you, it was the kind of earned respect that very few people in power actually had. Yukimura in that sense was a rare captain, because he didn't treat his team like slaves, he knew about each of them, their lives and dreams, and in turn he was treated like a friend and a captain at once.

Roko had never seen it that way. His vision of respect is that those who deserve it are those who work hard and inspire others to work their hardest too, and people above others abused their power and lost any respect they had because they were too selfish to see it.

Yukimura in that sense was a combination of both, a rare person who uses his power to his heart's content but doesn't drive his teammates like cattle either. Roko didn't quite understand the methods behind it, but he knew how much he was respected in that instant.

But it was different for the freshman of Rikkaidai. Roko had never understood why they practically worshipped Yukimura like they did, and came to the conclusion that it was because of his looks. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that in fact that wasn't the case at all. The freshmen gave their respect freely to Yukimura because they wanted to learn, Yukimura inspired them to learn by his own skills, and the freshmen followed suit, giving their freedom to Yukimura so he could shape them into talented tennis players.

Roko then finally understood why Sanada was so angry at him. Yukimura didn't deserve to spoken ill of, or to be left in the hospital alone for long, and Roko could tell that the thought terrified him.

So he just looked into Sanada's eyes passively, waiting for Sanada to let go of him, dropping the subject of Yukimura entirely.

After a long while that seemed to stretch on forever, Sanada seemed to finally calm down, putting Roko down before storming towards the door. He lifted his leg and with one ferocious kick he tore the door off its hinges, sending it reeling sideways and hit the ground with a loud thud. Sanada then stormed away without a word.

Roko just looked at the space where the door once was, thinking deeply about Sanada's words.

_Do I really not deserve to be a regular?_ He wondered.

Yanagi then peered around the corner, inspecting the new empty space as if he was examining the door that was once there.

"Ah, I see" he mumbled, turning to Roko.

"I'm sorry about that, but I thought it would help" he explained, and Roko just nodded.

"In that case" he continued, "Can you give Sanada this?" he asked, giving Roko a folded piece of paper. Roko looked up at Yanagi with a raised eyebrow.

"It's the bill for our new door" he said.


	12. Group Projects

**So I notice there's a severe lack of tennis practice and tennis club antics going on. So that stuff will happen next chapter! But until then, read about how much Roko irritates Sanada, because we all love reading about that.**

**Class 3A – English**

Roko often found it kind of funny how Sanada would refuse to even look at him during English. It seemed to him that Sanada would find a way to make tennis practice miserable for him, and then Roko would appear in his next class, which meant Sanada either forgot that he sat next to him in English or just didn't care, though it was probably the latter. It just generally made it awkward for the both of them, but Roko found it amusingly awkward rather than just awkward.

Today however, was especially awkward because on top of the fact that Sanada had snarled at Roko and kicked the regular clubhouse door down, the two of them had to do a group project - a project that was worth 50% of their grade this term. Though the 'project' was really more of a two-man essay than a project, where the partners were both given a different English transcript of a long conversation and they had to translate both of them together and correct the mistakes.

Roko mentally smirked at the paper when he read through it. It was a five-page conversation in small text about three teenagers talking about what they hoped to do in careers - it was a rather difficult transcript, involving different tenses, complex verbs and obscure adjectives, and the characters talked in great detail about what they wanted to do.

The point of this project was teamwork, for both people to come together and make sure that each other have translated and corrected their transcripts perfectly. Though skimming over it Roko was certain he could translate his with ease, and had to fight back an amused smirk as he noticed Sanada was scowling at his.

This project had a deadline of five days, and the teacher said that completing it with your partner after school is perfectly fine.

And so while other groups came together to start their work, Sanada looked in the opposite direction of Roko like he didn't exist. That was fine by him, he could easily complete this project anyway, and so he got out his notebook and began to translate the English into Japanese without consulting Sanada. He practically scowled at some of the obvious mistakes in the text, stuff like leaving out the 'ing' in a word, which made the sentence make no grammatical sense at all. Roko continued to write and write more Japanese out in his notebook, oblivious to the fact Sanada was watching him the whole time.

**Class 3A – English**

As much as he hated to admit it, Sanada was very impressed with this freshman's English skills. He had already completed the first page of translations and it had only been ten minutes, while Sanada scowled at his own transcript, unable to wrap his head around some of the words and verb structures. Sanada's English grades were good, but just good, he wasn't particularly talented or amazing at English, he was just average, and he found himself stuck on the third sentence after reading it through, and he couldn't copy the freshman's work either since his and Sanada's transcripts were different, so he had to ask the freshman for help.

He shuddered at the very thought. He could not deny that after he had kicked down the door things became extremely awkward, and even more so when he forgot _again_ that the freshman would be sitting next to him next class anyway.

He was still angry with him. He hated that freshman, how he paraded around in a jersey he didn't deserve, how he abused his privilege as a regular to talk to Sanada like he was equal to him, and how he insinuated that Yukimura would not return.

He would. Sanada knew he would. Yukimura would never go down without a fight, and whatever kind of disease he had he would recover from it and be back to lead the team. Sanada refused to believe for a moment that Yukimura would not come back. He was the Child of God, the tennis prodigy of Rikkaidai and the true captain of the tennis team.

_And my best friend_, he thought sadly to himself.

But as much as he hated the freshman, Sanada knew that this kid was his only chance of passing this project. Sanada's grades could not fall, because any regular with less than average grades would be removed from the team, and he could not allow that with the tennis club in crisis.

So he had to ask this freshman – the one he despised so much – to help him.

Sanada opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, and the freshman didn't notice, continually writing and occasionally glancing up at his transcript. Sanada tried to clear his throat to get this attention, but it only came out as a pathetic squeak that no one in the room heard – _thankfully._

_Just ask him to help you pathetic idiot!_ His mind screamed at him.

Sanada wanted help, no; he _needed_ help from this kid. He knew he should at least try to translate the transcript himself before asking, but looking over it, Sanada saw far too many words and verb structures he didn't recognize. But dammit, his pride was standing in the way. He was far too proud to ask his mortal enemy – and a _freshman_ – for help in his English. He didn't want to ask, but he knew he had to.

_JUST SAY SOMETHING ALREADY!_

"Sanada-kun?"

Sanada looked up to see his teacher looking at him warily, and Sanada realised this whole time he had not written a word.

"Are you alright? You haven't written anything" the teacher asked. Sanada realised he couldn't answer that in a way that didn't imply he was stuck, so he just titled his cap down to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm fine" he said flatly. The teacher looked at him for a moment, and then let out a huff, turning to the freshman. The freshman looked up from his work, and Sanada could see he was nearly finished with the second page of his transcript. He tried not to scowl.

"Echizen-kun, can you help Sanada-kun with his work please?" he asked lightly, and Sanada all but cheered. The freshman narrowed his eyes but nodded once without hesitation. He then made eye-contact with Sanada for the first time in English, and Sanada had to supress a glare. He took Sanada's transcript and scanned it briefly, and his eyes were filled with amusement. He was probably revelling in the fact Sanada was the one in need this time, and Sanada took a deep breath to calm himself.

The freshman then turned to Sanada and made gestures.

"_This transcript is people talking about their previous jobs"_ his hands said, and Sanada gave a loud huff in exasperation; past tense – his worst area of English. It frustrated him that in English he could complete advanced sentences and yet he struggled with the basics, and even more so with tenses and phrases that built up from the basics. He could never wrap his head around how it was possible to be good at the advanced things and fail at the basics.

Sanada, deciding that he definitely needed this freshman's help, moved his chair closer to the freshman's, so that he was looking over his shoulder. The freshman then gestured to the first sentence with his pen and made a single sign with his hands.

"_Translate"_

Sanada narrowed his eyes, and attempted to speak in his best English accent.

"Why did you quit your previous job?" he translated, knowing that was a very easy sentence. The freshman nodded and moved his pen down the paper and gestured to the first sentence of the next paragraph. Sanada paused before translating.

"I used to work as a electrician, but I thought the income was low and the working hours was too long" he said in his best English accent. The freshman nodded once to himself, and wrote above the sentence he had just translated.

_I used to work as an electrician, but I thought the income was low and the working hours were too long._ Sanada growled in frustration as he noticed the tiny mistakes he had made, not using the proper tense or changing the 'a' based on the object like he had been taught.

"Dammit" he mumbled to himself.

**Class 3A – English**

Roko did his best to concentrate and correct Sanada's mistakes, telling him where he went wrong and how to remember his mistakes, all while Sanada was literally breathing down his neck. His breath was actually really warm – Roko decided it was so warm because it was heated by his near-exploding head during practice. It was kind of off-putting, but not to the extent that Roko cared enough to tell him. He could do this with his eyes closed so it didn't matter if he had one tiny distraction.

He watched over and over again in amusement as Sanada fumed over the tiny mistakes he had made, and Roko understood Sanada's English style perfectly – the type who fail on the basics but are good at the advanced things. He kind of felt sorry for how angry Sanada got over it, it was clear how much it frustrated him, and Roko had to wonder why this was such a big deal to him.

He was still annoyed at Sanada, but he was mainly just annoyed at Sanada because he disliked Roko for pointless reasons. It irritated him how Sanada could just come up with any excuse he could think of to degrade Roko, even if it didn't make sense at all. At first Roko had wanted to clean the slate with Sanada, but the more time progressed the more he realised that wouldn't happen, because Sanada was just too stubborn. So he just sighed and gave up trying.

Eventually class had finished and everyone packed their things, heading off to their next class; before leaving Roko turned to Sanada, who was still muttering about his terrible English, and made several gestures.

"_We can discuss during practice when we'll finish our project"_. Sanada nodded once and made no move to communicate, so Roko just left the room to go to his next class, which he was pretty sure, was Drama.

**Headmaster's Office**

While being mute came with a lot of disadvantages, there were a few blissful benefits that Roko was very happy about. Not being given any major role in any Drama production was one of them. He honestly wondered why he had to take the subject, since it practically required you to speak, and Roko was often a background character who did nothing except walk around looking like a simple passer-by.

He knew that the drama teacher, a rather _too _happy blonde woman, had no idea what to do with Roko. He honestly couldn't blame the poor woman, and they both knew there was no way in hell he was going to get a good grade in this subject.

So he was rather surprised when the drama teacher told him that the headmaster wanted to speak with him.

So here he was, in the headmaster's office, waiting for the tired, bald old man to speak.

"Echizen-kun, I've had a lot of complaints from Ibuku-sensei recently" he began. Roko raised an eyebrow. Complaints?

"Well", he hastily corrected, "_complaints_ isn't the right word, but she's concerned that you cannot complete the subject without being able to speak". Roko nodded once, he'd known this from the start.

"So", he continued, "I have an alternative for you, instead of drama". Roko inwardly smiled and leaned forward slightly. Was it true? Was he finally going to be out of this horrible subject?

"In fact it was suggested by your English teacher this morning" he stated, and Roko's face fell. Oh no, did the man want_ more _English from him?

"As you should know, third years normally drop one subject after their second year in Rikkaidai that they cannot achieve a good grade in. So your English teacher made a proposal, continue with drama, or use the lesson to tutor a third-year in your class who has a free period at the same time as you have drama".

Roko's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

_Oh no…_

"I don't know the name of this third-year, but your teacher told me you would know who I'm talking about". Roko nodded gravely.

"So" the headmaster said, "what do you think?"

_Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?_ Roko thought irritably.


	13. Tutoring

**So I've started sixth form. It's really uninteresting :P and I pretty much get no homework, which means I have more time to write chapters! yay!**

**And I apologize for my recent chapters, because I've noticed that they're steadily getting worse, and I'm honestly wondering if I should stop with this.**

**It's also kind of depressing that I'm 13 chapters in and I haven't even wrote about the District Tournament, and then I need to write about Regionals, and then Nationals, and all the stuff in between. D: HELP MEH!**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Roko ran alongside the other regulars, including Sanada himself, in an endless course of laps and laps and laps. The District Tournament would begin next week, which meant that the regulars had four days remaining until the tournament, and Sanada being the taskmaster that he is, decided it was appropriate to double their training menu. They were currently on their 192nd lap, nearly finished with their 200 laps, and Roko and the rest of the regulars felt exhausted.

It didn't help that Yanagi had said that the man who comes in last place would have to drink his newest concoction, but while this didn't really bother Roko – it was just a drink – the rest of the regulars except Sanada paled. Roko had come to the conclusion that this drink was either poisoned or just disgusting, but knowing Yanagi, it could be either.

Roko had enjoyed the practice today immensely. The first thing was that all the regulars were given power wrists and ankles that would build up their stamina and power, followed by simple rallying with the power weights. The point of this was that you would aim at the corners and the player would run back and forth, and that sounded pretty good to Roko, but the rest of the regulars seemed to disagree, especially Kirihara – who Roko discovered, was the team complainer.

The laps were nearly done now, and Roko's mind drifted back to Yanagi's 'concoction'. He had to wonder what exactly it was, what it tasted like, what the ingredients were… The way the other regulars turned white at the suggestion made Roko very curious.

So on the last lap, he pretended to stumble and drop his speed, and while everyone else crossed the finish line, Roko just watched them.

Yanagi materialized out of thin air behind him.

"Ah, I see you'll be my latest victim, Echizen" he said sweetly, in a voice that reminded Roko of Yukimura. Yanagi held in his hand a tall glass of something that looked akin to green sludge, with a little mint leaf on the top for added presentation. He held the glass toward Roko, and he took it gladly.

Roko looked at the green sludge for a while, and he noticed that all of the regulars who didn't collapse on the finish line had returned to watch Roko drink it. It was clear they'd get some amusement out of it, and that only made Roko more curious as to how it tasted.

Roko put the glass to his lips, and he noticed Niou's mouth curve into a huge grin. Roko tipped the glass vertically until he had downed the whole glass in one gulp.

And suddenly he stumbled slightly. Woah, that drink had a hell of a kick to it. Suddenly Kirihara spoke up.

"Echizen! Are you alright?" he called. Roko paused, and then looked up at Kirihara to see him and the rest of the team looking at him in fear, like they were expecting him to die on the spot.

Roko looked back at Yanagi, who still had an amused smirk on his face. He didn't seem disappointed at all that Roko wasn't gagging, he was still smiling… Roko suddenly felt an extremely sharp tang on his tongue.

He stopped. He frowned, and licked his lips to try and recreate the taste. It tasted familiar, it tasted of…

_Wait, why am I falling?_ He realised, as he noticed the world tilting quickly. He could hear blurred voices of alarm in the background, but he couldn't make out the words. He didn't feel himself hit the ground either, but he could tell he had when the world bounced slightly, which was probably his head bouncing off the ground.

Suddenly he could see a swarm of yellow and black all over him, with the occasional flash of colour in the background, and it looked like giant mutated bees were molesting him

"…zen? …chizen? ..." who was that calling him. He wasn't sure, but he knew that he was being shook roughly, so he guessed it was Sanada.

And suddenly he felt a sharp rap on his cheek and he was back on the ground again.

_He slapped me again_, Roko noted with irritation.

"Echizen!" he heard Kirihara call. Roko blinked, his vision suddenly clear, and he looked up to see the regulars standing over him looking terrified.

"Echizen!" Kirihara cried, crushing Roko into a death hug, "You're alive!"

_Air…_

"Kirihara!" he heard his captain roar, and Kirihara immediately jumped away from Roko, and Roko turned his head in Sanada's direction to see him standing there looking down at him with his arms folded and his cold glare in place.

"You've gotten too soft, letting Yanagi's drink get to you" he stated. Roko blinked.

Yanagi's drink. The green sludge. The green sludge that tasted of… Roko made a quick sign.

"_Cinnamon!"_ his hands exclaimed. Sanada raised an eyebrow.

"Cinnamon? What's that got to do with it?" Roko saw Yanagi tense up as the word passed Sanada's lips. Apparently that was supposed to be a secret ingredient.

"_The aftertaste" _Roko's hands explained, _"It was such a strong cinnamon taste that it made me feel like I had a concussion"_. Sanada's face actually showed surprise, and he looked at Yanagi from the corner of his eye.

"How much cinnamon did you put in that?" he asked curiously. Yanagi shuffled uncomfortably, clearly not wanting to give details about his precious juice. Seriously, what was up with this guy's juice? How could you even make something that gave people concussions?

"Quite a lot" Yanagi admitted, "But I didn't think it would be enough to be dangerous". Sanada frowned at him.

"Don't use that stuff again" he said firmly, and Yanagi just nodded once. Roko mentally sighed in exasperation.

He _really_ hated cinnamon.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Library**

Sanada tapped his foot impatiently as he sat at one of the library's desks, waiting for his new English tutor. He had been told by the principal that a student had recently dropped a subject, and he was going to be tutoring Sanada to fill the free time.

Sanada enjoyed his free period more than anything. It was a time he could be alone, since everyone else was in their classes, and he could unwind and reflect on the day. So he was seriously pissed off that his time was now going to be taken up by a third year teaching him English, but Sanada couldn't argue his English grades were on the verge of failing, and that project that needed to be finished with the freshman needed to be done.

Actually, now that Sanada thought about it, they never arranged a time to continue the project during practice, and he sighed loudly, now knowing he'd have to ask the freshman himself. It wasn't a project that could be completed in class; once it was distributed it had to be completed in your free time, so it meant that the two had to make time after school.

He heard footsteps behind him, but Sanada didn't turn. Whoever this person was, he had stolen his valuable free period and Sanada was quite pissed off. The footsteps stopped, but there was no voice to introduce himself, instead there was a rather icy silence.

Sanada wondered if the third year was scared or curious, or just rude, so he turned to him, a scolding sentence on his tongue.

"Are you going to intro-" the retort died on his tongue when he saw who it was. He blinked once, twice. Yep, he was still there, it wasn't an illusion. Sanada narrowed his eyes.

"Why is it that we constantly get put together?" he asked the freshman. The freshman shrugged as a response and put down the plate that he was carrying in one hand on the desk next to him.

Sanada raised an eyebrow. Wait a minute. Why did the kid have a plate? With a slice of cake?

The freshman dumped his bag next to the chair, pulled it up, and sat down. Sanada then proceeded to have a staring contest with the freshman. But the freshman just looked bored.

"_We need to talk"_ his hands said. Sanada stopped glaring and blinked.

"We're talking now" he replied curtly.

"_We need to forgive each other"_. Sanada snorted as a response. The freshman's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"_I'll make you a deal"_ his hands said. Sanada raised an eyebrow. A deal? What kind of deal would he make?

"What?" he asked curiously. It wasn't that he was interested in what he said – he wouldn't accept any terms he'd make – but Sanada was rather curious as to how the freshman would explain himself.

"_I'll tutor you in English if you forget what I did"_ his hands said flatly. Sanada's eyes flared with anger.

Did he even realise where he stood? He was doing this because he didn't have the choice, and yet he would imply that he would refuse to tutor him. How dare he! How dare he think that Sanada would ever forgive him! He was stuck-up, arrogant, rude and uncaring of his teammates, demonstrated by his abandoning of Kirihara.

"You don't have the choice, remember?" Sanada growled. Roko looked at him levelly.

"_No", _his hands stated_, "I could return to Drama and you could not have a tutor. How long would you last in the regulars without one?"_ Sanada's eyes widened, he knew, he knew that Sanada was on the verge of being dropped from the regulars. He knew and yet he didn't care, he would willingly allow the captain of the team to be dropped, denying all chance of the team entering the District Tournament and qualifying further.

"You would never do that" Sanada growled with a piercing glare, "Rikkaidai would never get into the Tournament if you did"

Roko nodded once in understanding.

"_Which is why you need to forgive me"_ his hands stated.

Sanada glared in an infuriating anger he'd never felt before. This freshman. This freshman was so willing to endanger the future of Rikkaidai for his _forgiveness_? How on earth could he think that Sanada would ever forgive him after so willingly doing this?

The freshman noticed that Sanada wasn't going to answer, and so stood up, taking his cake and bag with him and walking away. Sanada watched him walk slowly towards the door.

_What's more important? Your pride or the future of your team?_

Sanada continued to watch the freshman walk away.

_Do you think Yukimura would ever forgive you for this?_

Sanada gritted his teeth.

_You promised him you'd take the Nationals_.

The freshman was nearly at the door, a few more seconds and he would be gone.

_DO SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!_

Sanada stood up abruptly.

"Stop!" he called across the room. The freshman paused mid-step and turned to face him with a slight smile.

"I…" Sanada began. The freshman raised an inquiring eyebrow and continued to stare down Sanada. Sanada had never felt so humiliated in his life; he had to apologize to this freshman. He _had_ to, and he knew there was no alternative, because the freshman was just too selfish to tutor Sanada without endangering the team.

But Sanada in that moment realised exactly what the freshman was asking him. He was asking him to forget everything, to wipe the slate clean, to start fresh, and to not let conflict get in the way of the team. Yes, because the freshman was a teammate.

_Echizen_ was a teammate.

"I forgive you" he said with utter conviction, dropping all quarrels against him.

Echizen smiled widely and nodded, approaching the table again, and Sanada gave a sigh of relief.

"By the way" Sanada said when Echizen sat down, "what's the cake for?" Echizen smiled and stabbed the cake with the fork, putting a piece in his mouth.

"_Do you want some?__" _his hands asked.


	14. District Tournament

**Good news! I have been given a huge art project! D: So basically this means that all my time for the next week will be devoted to art, except for this weekend since I have no materials, so I'm getting started on Monday. That means from Monday onwards chapters probably won't be posted for a while. **

**And on the topic of my fic, I love your comments and how I'm totally getting the characters down when I don't even mean to. :P But hey, I've finally started the District Tournament (which will be short considering Rikkaidai will breeze through that) and that's not really a spoiler considering everyone who has watched PoT should've seen that coming.**

**Echizen**** Household**

"Hey, Roko" Ryoma said.

The two brothers were both sat on the couch in the living room finishing their homework, as they always did. Ryoma was completing a Chemistry essay while Roko was studying a Biology text book for his up-coming test. They both shared a comfortable silence between them, engrossed in their own work until Ryoma spoke up.

Roko turned his head to Ryoma.

"Will you be watching my first match?" he asked. Roko smiled and put down his textbook so his hands were free.

"_I'll take the train back here to watch you play, since my match is an hour before yours"_. Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"You make it sound like your match won't take long" he suggested, but Roko just continued smiling and studied his text book.

Ryoma just sighed and smiled back at his chemistry essay. It wasn't particularly difficult, but Ryoma couldn't wrap his head around some of the details, so he just made it up as he went. Chemistry was the only subject that Ryoma really struggled in, and so his teacher declared it appropriate to give him extra homework.

Ryoma's first official match in the District Tournament was in two days, against some school beginning with a G. Ryoma didn't really know what it was called, nor did he particularly care, he was just interested in playing the team. He hoped that Roko would be there to watch, even if Ryoma was unable to go to Roko's own match.

Ryoma frowned, as he listed another problem with Roko going to Rikkaidai. There seemed to be an endless list of reasons why Roko couldn't go to this or do that, all because of tennis practice or Rikkaidai in general. It wasn't that Ryoma disliked the fact Roko had joined Rikkaidai, but it seemed that he was suddenly busy with one thing or another, and Ryoma had seen less and less of him recently. But he couldn't argue that he'd been home less and less too, with tennis practice taking up so much time every school day.

"I can't wait to play against your school" Ryoma said out of the blue. Roko looked up unfazed, and smiled softly.

"_I'm looking forward to crushing you"_ his hands said, and Ryoma shook his head at his brother's cockiness.

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens**

The Rikkaidai Regulars were assembled at the tennis courts, waiting for Sanada to return with confirmation of their entry in the tournament. The tennis gardens was a large open area with many tennis courts in sight, surrounded by metal mesh, and the area boasted a great deal of trees and flowers, since the area backed onto a nature reserve. There were plenty of park benches and food stands, and teams with uniforms walking back and forth talking strategy.

Kirihara smirked as he noticed the other teams had noticed them and were whispering sharply to each other. They were sat on two park benches, but even sitting on a park bench stirred fear into the other teams, because Rikkaidai was just that good. Kirihara smiled inwardly as he saw that one team noticed he was looking at them and they quickly walked away.

Sanada was really taking his time. As much as Kirihara loathed the useless competition they had to plough through to get to the Nationals, he couldn't help but want to play, even if the opposition could barely return his shots. He felt his pulse quicken and he buzzed with excitement when they stepped through the front gate, and he just suddenly _needed_ to play tennis.

He wondered if the rest of the team were feeling the same. Probably not, since Yanagi was muttering under his breath while writing in his notebook, Yagyuu sat graciously and waited patiently, Marui had his arms folded behind his head and was mechanically blowing bubbles, Jackal was staring at the sky, and Niou… he had no idea where Niou was. Echizen had left earlier, just walking away without any sort of sign, and Kirihara suddenly had a very awkward moment when he asked Echizen where he was going, and immediately realised that without Sanada, Echizen couldn't communicate with him. So Echizen just gave a thumbs-up and walked off.

Kirihara wondered what Echizen was doing. He'd never understood that freshman, but in fairness, nobody except Sanada did. It was extremely awkward during the first few days when people would congratulate him on becoming a regular and start asking questions about his life, and Echizen would just stand there and wait for them to realise he was mute. He was just a person who made others feel awkward. Kirihara often wondered what Echizen really thought, since there were plenty of times people would look at him like he had cheated to become a regular, even though he defeated Yagyuu.

But Kirihara couldn't deny that his heart practically broke in two when Echizen didn't appear for his match. He so desperately wanted to play this mysterious freshman that had defeated Yagyuu, with no witnesses to tell the tale. Some of the non-regulars thought he had bribed Yagyuu or threatened him in order to become a regular, but Kirihara more than anyone understood what it was like to be underestimated.

He had forgiven Echizen since then, coming to the conclusion that there was a serious reason – serious enough for him to miss his match – for Echizen to skip playing against him. Kirihara didn't hold it against him, because he just somehow knew that whatever the freshman needed to do was far more important than the match. He wanted to ask him, but he just felt scared at the idea of fukubuchou translating for Echizen, because Sanada was just terrifying.

Speaking of which, Sanada was walking back down the path towards them, with his stoic mask in place and large stride. People looked at him awestruck as he passed, with wide eyes and whispered to each other. It wasn't surprising really, for all of fukubuchou's scariness, he was an icon in the middle school tennis world.

Sanada stood in front of the group, and raised an eyebrow.

"Where are Niou and Echizen?" he demanded. Kirihara opened his mouth to speak, but there was suddenly a white blur next to him, and Kirihara jumped and fell off the bench in fright. He groaned and looked up to see Niou smirking at him.

"Niou-senpai! Where did you go?" he asked angrily, but Niou just smirked.

"I was busy checking out the other teams, puri ~" he replied casually, sitting down to take Kirihara's place on the bench.

"And?" Yanagi asked from across the bench, leaning forward curiously.

"All weak teams" Niou stated bluntly, and there was a general sigh of disappointment from the team even though there was complete silence.

"And Echizen?" Sanada asked. Kirihara stood up from his sprawled position on the ground.

"We couldn't ask him since you weren't there, fukubuchou" he replied. Sanada grunted once as a response.

"He can take his time, the match doesn't start for another ten minutes" he said. Kirihara was shocked by his answer, normally fukubuchou would have roared and stormed away to find Echizen and drag his corpse back, but to actually allow someone to be gone for a long period of time before a match?

"Who's playing?" Marui asked with his arms still folded behind his head.

"Doubles One will be you and Jackal, Doubles Two will be Yagyuu and Niou, Singles Three will be Echizen" Sanada stated. No one pointed out that Sanada hadn't mentioned singles one and two, but he didn't need to, considering the team would win in three matches anyway.

Kirihara seethed inwardly at the realisation he wouldn't be playing. He wanted to play so badly, and yet he would have to watch from the sidelines? Agh! How could this get any worse?

Yanagi lifted his head lightly.

"Ah, it seems Echizen has returned" he noted, and everyone looked in Yanagi's direction to see the freshman walking slowly towards the regulars with earphones in his ears. Kirihara raised an eyebrow. Did Echizen like music?

"Echizen" Sanada called to him, and Echizen just looked up at him.

"Why were you gone?" Sanada asked sternly. Echizen just lifted his hands and made gestures that Kirihara and the rest of the regulars couldn't understand. It was kind of strange to see these conversations between fukubuchou and Echizen that no one else could understand, and it was kind of awkward, especially when they started to talk when glancing at the other regulars, implying they were having secret conversations. Sanada narrowed his eyebrows.

"Cake? Why would you buy that?" he asked curiously, and Kirihara noticed that Marui's eye lit up.

Echizen made more gestures.

Sanada just sighed.

"It doesn't matter, you're playing in Singles 3, think you can handle that?" he asked. Echizen just nodded once.

"Good"

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens Courts**

Roko could somehow feel eyes on him as soon as the word 'Cake' was uttered by Sanada. He glanced at the regulars, but didn't see anything unordinary; they all looked at him curiously or not paying attention at all.

He mentally sighed and ignored it, and instead focused on watching the other team warm up. He could tell instantly that they were a weak team, judging by the physique and awkward stretches of the players. They looked utterly terrified, and Roko couldn't blame them for that, after all, they were against the three-time national champions.

He still had his earphones in and his music on full blast. Sanada didn't scold him for it, since the captain had softened his punishments on Roko since he started tutoring him English, and frankly there wasn't anything worth paying attention to in this game. Roko was kind of disappointed that he would have to put his iPod down in order to play his opponent; his music was of far more value to him.

He decided he was hungry, and the matches were about to begin. Roko reached into his tennis bag and pulled out a box, and opened the lid to reveal two iced muffins with cherries on top, and he practically salivated at the sight of them. They looked so _good_.

And then he felt that glare on his head again, and turned to see Marui staring at him shamelessly, or more precisely, he was staring at the cake. Roko rolled his eyes, and removed his earphones.

"Can I have one?" Marui asked without looking away from the muffins. Roko just shook his head, and Marui whined.

"Oh pleeaassee" he begged, his eyes growing huge and looked at Roko with a pout. Roko just looked at him hollowly; he was not getting his cake.

"Echizen" he heard Jackal say, and he turned to Jackal, who looked at him sympathetically, "it's better to just give him one, he won't leave you alone until you do". Roko looked at Jackal for a moment, and then made signs with his hands. Jackal looked confused, and looked at Sanada who had watched the conversation.

"I'll give one when you win the match" Sanada translated, and Marui's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hugged Roko tightly. Roko struggled against him but Marui held on and smiled widely.

"Yay! Thank you" he chirped, suddenly very happy, and Roko blinked at his sudden change in personality.

_He must really love cake_, he noted, and a small smile crept across his face.

So he took the first muffin, and took a delicious bite out of it with his music at full blast in his ears as he watched Marui and Jackal shake hands with their terrified opponents.


	15. Meeting Ann

**I don't know what to write here, other than this chapter's kind of boring. **

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Roko watched amusedly with his music booming in his ears as his brother and a second-year who often cycled Ryoma to school argued with each other in a game of doubles. It was clear they had no synchronisation whatsoever, and it actually felt painful to watch them both slamming into each other while trying to reach the ball. Roko mentally sighed, and wondered how on Earth his brother had got into doubles, when he has never even played doubles before, and Roko smiled at the memory of him walking into their room to find Ryoma reading 'Doubles for Beginners'. Of course he immediately denied reading the thing and pretended that it wasn't right behind him, even when Roko swiped it and held it in front of Ryoma's face like evidence at a crime scene.

_Crash._

The two ran into each other again, and engaged in another shouting match. Roko wanted to go down there and beat some sense into his brother, but he knew that he couldn't.

He was dressed back into his Rikkaidai uniform, with the black trousers, shoes, white shirt and blue and white tie. Thankfully, no one here recognized the uniform, since the team would always show up in their tennis jerseys and shorts rather than their uniforms, it also helped that Rikkaidai wasn't even in this district, so everyone would never expect a Rikkaidai student to appear before the Regionals.

The game stopped for a few minutes, allowing the players to get a drink, and Roko smiled at how the old Seigaku coach scolded them for their awful doubles play, the two of them bowing their heads in shame. This was a rare moment where Roko was able to see his brother subdued, and he smiled shamelessly at this opportunity.

Roko turned, deciding to get a drink, and made his way to the vending machine. They had a whole selection of ponta available, but Roko just bought a bottle of iced tea instead; he'd never liked ponta, despite his craving for sweet things.

"Excuse me" came a light voice. Roko turned to stand face-to-face with a small girl, who he assumed was a first year. She had shoulder-length coffee brown hair, large brown eyes, small, soft features and a camera around her neck. She wore a cream cardigan on top of a white blouse and a short brown skirt. The girl noticed she'd got his attention, and Roko took out his earphones.

"Do you know where the Seigaku game is?" she asked politely. Roko just nodded and gestured for her to follow, which she frowned at, but nodded and followed him back to the courts. She was probably frowning because she thought it was rude that he hadn't spoke, but Roko didn't really care; it just became tedious trying to explain to everyone who ever talked to him that he was mute.

When they had reached the court the girl immediately moved to the iron mesh around the courts and watched with an analytical expression, and then her face dropped when she noticed how badly Seigaku were playing.

"Their doubles play is awful. Are they really regulars?" she wondered out loud, and Roko, who had moved next to her, mentally chuckled and smiled widely, putting his earphones back in and welcoming the loud music. He opened his iced tea and sipped it, not taking his eyes off the game.

The girl then lifted her camera and pressed a button, and held it up to the courts and kept it there, probably recording video.

_Is this girl a spy?_ Roko wondered. His first thought was to swipe the camera, after all, if she was a spy then he didn't want his brother to have a disadvantage in a game, but he soon realised that it didn't really matter, since Ryoma was barely showing any of his skills here.

Ryoma and the second-year then started to have a conversation, and even from here Roko could tell that the second-year had a plan. Ryoma smiled deviously and nodded once, and they moved back to their positions, and then when the opposing team sent the ball down the middle, the two of them shouted something Roko couldn't hear over his music, and suddenly the second-year hit the ball while Ryoma stopped, and it went right past the opposing team, who probably weren't expecting them to return it.

_Ah, so they have some sort of signal for when the ball goes down the middle_, Roko thought.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Fuji Syuusuke watched with a growing smile as Echizen and Momoshiro started to pull back, taking game after game with their 'Ah-Un' formation. At the start their doubles play made him cringe inwardly, but suddenly they were on the offensive and Fuji smiled, knowing the game was now theirs.

His eyes started to wander, and they stopped when he noticed someone in the crowd. From here he couldn't make out any features except his black hair, but the uniform seemed familiar to him. It was a simple white short-sleeved shirt with a blue and white tie, with black trousers and shoes.

_Where have I seen that before?_ He wondered. The boy was sipping a bottle of something while watching the game, standing next to a girl who was holding a camera and holding it to the courts.

_Are they spies?_

Fuji dismissed the thought when he noticed their uniforms were not similar at all, suggesting the two went to different schools. It was possible they were both spies who were working separately, but it seemed like the black-haired boy wasn't taking notes or recording, he was just watching, so Fuji decided he was just a spectator, but he still felt a gnawing doubt in the back of his mind.

"Tezuka" he said, and his captain turned his head to him.

"Hm?" Tezuka asked. Fuji pointed to the boy in the crowd, and Tezuka looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"Does his uniform seem familiar to you?" he asked, and Tezuka narrowed his eyes, as if trying to recall a memory.

"Yes, but I do not know why" he replied indifferently, turning his head back to the game. Fuji sighed, realising that Tezuka had no interest in the mystery man at all, and decided to turn his attention back to the game too.

The game quickly ended afterward with Echizen and Momo winning 6-4. Fuji smiled widely as his teammates stepped off the courts, but Ryuuzaki-sensei apparently did not share his happiness.

"What were you two doing?" she boomed, "Your doubles play was awful! You could have cost us the match!"

"Hai" the two mumbled, and Ryuuzaki ordered them to kneel by the bench in humiliation. Fuji smiled in amusement as he watched the winners of the match be punished.

"Hah!" Fuji heard a voice, "Seigaku won and they're being punished for it!" and there was an immediate chorus of laughter, making Echizen and Momo bow their heads further in shame.

But then Fuji noticed that Echizen had looked up, and his eyes widened for a moment, and Fuji turned in his direction of view to see the mystery man standing there. The mystery man made signs with his hands.

_Sign language?_ Fuji wondered as he watched the mystery man continue to make signs, and then Echizen smiled, before turning his attention back to the game.

_Who was that? And does Echizen know sign language?_

So many questions, and yet in Echizen's current predicament Fuji knew he couldn't approach him. He'd have to ask later, and hopefully Echizen would give an answer.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Roko smiled widely as he watched Ryoma and his teammate kneel on the ground in punishment for winning. It seemed that the coach of Seigaku was an even bigger taskmaster than Sanada, since he would never punish someone for winning.

He looked at Ryoma for a while, and Ryoma seemed to notice someone was watching and looked up to make eye-contact with Roko from across the courts. Immediately he smiled, and Roko made signs.

"_At least you won. I hope you aren't this bad in singles"_. Roko could see Ryoma smile in amusement, and he took that as his queue to leave, since he was only here for Ryoma's match.

"Eh? You're going?" came the voice of the girl. Roko stopped, forgetting about her completely, and turned back to her inquiring eyes. She'd put the camera down, and would probably start filming when the next match started. Roko just nodded once, and the girl frowned.

"You should at least watch the whole game, I mean, isn't that why you're here?" she inquired, and Roko just pointed to Ryoma as an answer. The girl looked at the spot where he had pointed, and made a connection in her head.

"Ah, you're here to watch the freshman?" she asked, and Roko nodded once, before walking away and leaving the girl behind before she could say more.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Tachibana Ann watched as the quiet kid walked away without a word spoken to her, and she huffed in anger. He was so rude; could he have at least said something to her?

She supposed it didn't really matter. The kid – whoever he was – came here to watch the freshman from Seigaku. Ann couldn't understand why, his play in that game was awful, she'd seen grade schoolers with better synch in doubles.

The second doubles game was about to start, and Ann picked up her camera and pressed 'record', holding up the camera to the courts. She was doing this to help her brother's team win, since they were just starting with a fresh team, and every piece of data they could gather on their opponents would be precious. Ann knew that Fudomine had won their first game, even though she wasn't there to witness it, which meant their next opponents would be Seigaku, and she took it upon herself to make sure that Fudomine knew everything about their opponents.

As she held up the camera with her steady hands to record the match, she couldn't help but think of that mystery kid. He didn't say a word to her, he was only here to watch the freshman and was wearing a uniform Ann didn't recognize. At first she assumed he was a spy like her, trying to collect data on their opponents, but he seemed to not bare any real interest in the game, other than smirking when the Seigaku players crashed into each other.

Ann couldn't help but feel frustrated at the kid. Was he so rude, he didn't think that he should speak to her? Was it because she was a girl? Did he think he shouldn't waste his breath on a girl? Ann suddenly felt so angry she didn't even notice she was squeezing the life out of the camera, and that he hands were shaking to give a blurred video. She quickly stopped herself and calmed down, not bothering to waste a second thought on the mystery kid.

Eventually the matches ended, with Seigaku taking the first three games, and they continued on to the second round. Ann sighed in relief as she finally put down the camera, resting her aching hands, and turned the camera off and quickly returned to the court where her brother's team was waiting.

Kippei was stood there stoically with the rest of the team in their black and purple jerseys, and they all brightened at Ann's return. Before she could say a word Kamio shot forward.

"Ann! What'd you get on Seigaku? Is that freshman really that good?" he asked quickly.

"Kamio!" Kippei said icily, and Kamio immediately stopped.

"Seigaku won the first three games, but the freshman was awful, he played doubles with Momoshiro" she said. The entire team raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Kamio asked disappointedly, "I thought he'd be really good"

"If he got into Seigaku then he must be" Shinji cut in, "he beat Kaidoh and Inui in singles, so his weakness is probably in doubles. Though I don't see why Seigaku would make him play doubles, I mean, if he was really that awful then surely they'd at least know about it. Do they even know the weaknesses of their teammates, or did they just do this to test the freshman? A risky move, considering they could have cost them a match. That old coach must really-"

"Shinji" Kippei said once, and he immediately silenced. Kippei sighed loudly.

"The freshman must be far better at singles, none of you are allowed to underestimate him" he said, with no room for debate.

The entire team nodded once, and Ann smiled at her brother's leadership.


	16. Surprise Visits and Interrogation

**Seigaku Tennis Courts**

"No, Fuji-senpai, I don't know who you're talking about"

Fuji frowned at Ryoma, and Ryoma had to restrain himself from telling him to piss off. Ever since the end of Seigaku's first official match, Fuji had been asking who that boy was that made signs to Ryoma, and suddenly everyone – excluding Tezuka, Kaidoh and Kawamura – took an immediate interest and suddenly they were also asking who the mystery kid was.

Ryoma had been fine the first few times people had asked, brushing off the question like it was nothing, but that only stirred their curiosity even more, and suddenly Ryoma couldn't go an hour without someone asking.

"Come on Echizen-kun, I saw him make signs at you, and you smiled. You must know who he is" he said persistently.

Ryoma didn't know why he was denying that he knew the mystery kid. At first he denied it out of annoyance at being punished for winning, but now he didn't know what it was. He assumed it was the protective older brother instinct – he was technically older by a few minutes – that he didn't want his friends bothering Roko, not that they could, considering he goes to a different school. But something about the fact that people desperately wanted to know about Roko made him even more protective.

Maybe it was the fact that Roko hated attention that Ryoma was flatly denying it, but whatever it was he wasn't quite sure.

"I don't know who he is or why you care so much, but I'd like to get back to tennis practice" he said, quelling most of the anger in his voice, and strode away from Fuji without another word spoken. He had a practice match against Kikumaru anyway.

"Nya! Ochibi!" Ryoma heard, and he turned only to be tackled by the hyper active Kikumaru, nearly throwing him to the ground.

"Kikumaru-senpai!" he snapped in annoyance, but Kikumaru was unfazed by his tone.

"Nya, Ochibi, who was that guy at our first match?" he asked, still on Ryoma's back. Ryoma felt a vein in his head pop.

_Don't kill him don't kill him don't kill him don't kill him don't kill him_

"No one, Kikumaru-senpai" Ryoma said flatly, and shifted, so Kikumaru fell off his back but caught himself before he hit the ground. Ryoma quickly moved to the court, waiting for Kikumaru to move to the other side of the court.

"Let's make a deal" he said after a while, with a devious smile. Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"You have to answer any question I ask you if I win" he said triumphantly, as if he had somehow won already.

"No way" Ryoma said flatly. Suddenly Inui materialized next to them, and Kikumaru jumped back in fright.

"Inui! Don't do that!" he wailed.

"Hmm" Inui began, completely ignoring Kikumaru, "an interesting deal, you should take it, Echizen". Ryoma didn't instantly refuse, because he knew what was coming next.

"Or" Inui continued, "You could test my newest vegetable juice". Ryoma sighed.

"Fine, I'll answer one question if you win, but if you lose, you get to test Inui-senpai's new juice" Kikumaru paled at that, and hesitated before nodding once.

All through the conversation, Fuji watched unnoticed, and couldn't help but smile devilishly at this new deal. Either way it will be very interesting.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Yukimura had been in hospital for one week now, and was slowly becoming accustomed to the white, sterile room that he was staying in. The doctors had still not found out what exactly it was that he had, and he was becoming very impatient.

He had heard from Sanada that they had won their first match with flying colours, with Echizen taking the game with a flawless 6-0. Yukimura honestly felt guilty about ordering Yanagi to fix their relationship, making it only worse in turn, but when he spoke to Sanada, that acidic tone when he spoke of Echizen was gone, and Yukimura knew instantly that they had made up without Yanagi's help. He had smiled widely and his mind was somewhat put to rest, at least now knowing that the two of them won't be at each other's throats.

It was honestly painful to hear Sanada talk about how much the team was improving. It made Yukimura ache at the thought that his team was going on ahead without him. But it wasn't that he didn't want his team to progress, he wanted the opposite, but it still hurt that they were out there on the tennis courts while he was trapped in a bed in a white room with false-faced nurses and cold machines.

Yukimura had decided on the first day of being admitted to the hospital that he was not going to worry about the team, and only about himself. They did not need him in order to win, Sanada would lead them well and they would take the nationals again.

Suddenly the door opened and Yukimura looked up, expecting to find one of the nurses, but instead he looked into the golden eye of Echizen. Yukimura paused momentarily, lost for words before he found his voice again.

"Ah, Echizen, it's nice to see you" he said softly, and Echizen nodded in response and moved to sit on the stool next to Yukimura's bed. Yukimura was immediately struck by the situation, since Sanada wasn't here Echizen couldn't respond to his questions, and yet he had come anyway. Why? Was he going to attempt to communicate or was he just here to assure himself that he was alright?

Actually, now that Yukimura thought about it, Echizen had never visited before.

"What brings you here?" he asked, hoping that Echizen had some method of communication. Echizen reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper, and started writing on it, before holding it up to Yukimura.

'_Sanada was busy today so I left practice to come see you' _the paper said, and Yukimura chuckled to himself.

"Sanada will kill you for that" he stated, but Echizen just shrugged. The two shared a rather comfortable silence between them, with Echizen critically examining the room around him, and Yukimura just watching the freshman.

"You've never visited me before" Yukimura commented. Echizen nodded and scribbled more on his paper.

'_I didn't see a reason to, considering you were my captain for half a day_" Yukimura was surprised at how blunt and truthful his response was, even if it was downright rude. He surprised himself even more by laughing at his response. Echizen raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry" Yukimura said after a while, "it's just nice to see someone who treats me like a human being". Echizen visibly frowned, and wrote more on his paper.

'_What do you mean?'_ Yukimura sighed loudly and began to explain.

"Everyone at school calls me the 'Child of God'" he began, and Echizen nodded, "but they don't treat me like a middle school student. They treat me like an actual child of God, practically bowing in worship when I pass, and losing all words if I stopped to help them or talk to them". Echizen narrowed his eyes, but nodded for Yukimura to continue.

"At first I thought it was a very nice gesture, they treated me like I was royalty, and I felt absorbed in it. Then after a while I found it impossible to do anything at Rikkaidai without wide eyes and people whispering 'The Child of God'" Yukimura paused. "Even my own teammates do it, but while they don't use my nickname, they look at me the same way, especially Akaya"

"I can't stand it when they do that anymore, I want to be normal, and I want to get away from all of this talk of the 'Child of God'. I'm not a child of God, I never was a child of God and I never will be. They call me it because I'm perfect in my subjects, the tennis club captain and that I look attractive, but that doesn't make me royalty, and I just can't stand it anymore!" Yukimura stopped as he realised he was shouting. Had he said too much there? Would Echizen think of him differently?

But Echizen was still sat there, unmoving, with his face in that perfect passive mask, and he wrote a sentence on his paper.

'_It's the opposite for me, you're the 'Child of God', and I'm the mute boy'_.

Yukimura suddenly felt so guilty his gut squirmed. That's right; he was the one that people whispered about, the one who was believed to have a disease or to be too stupid to talk. Yukimura had heard many rumours like that, and he understood what he meant by they were opposites.

"I understand perfectly" Yukimura said, even though he knew he couldn't understand. Echizen made no move to write on the paper, and instead nodded.

They shared another comfortable silence between them, and then Echizen began writing again, and Yukimura just watched his freshman prodigy with a smile.

**Seigaku Tennis Courts**

Ryoma seethed in anger as he watched the rest of the team deliberating on what to ask him. Kikumaru had won by the narrowest gap after it went to tie-break with a drop shot, and Ryoma was too tired to reach it in time. He had mentally scolded himself afterward, saying that he should have never taken the bet. But now it was done, so Ryoma just prayed that Kikumaru would screw up and ask a stupid question.

After a while they had finished and all turned to him, Tezuka included – why was Tezuka interested? – and Fuji took a step forward.

"Alright Echizen, I believe we've decided on the perfect question" Fuji said softly, with his sadistic smile in place. Ryoma just sighed.

"Get it over with" he said bluntly.

There was a long pause.

"Why was he with a girl?" Fuji asked sweetly, and Ryoma froze, not expecting that at all.

_Wait… what?_

"He was with a girl?" Ryoma repeatedly stupidly, and Fuji smile wider.

"Yes, he was"

Ryoma thought for a long time.

_What? Does Roko have a girlfriend? When did he meet this girl?_

"Saa" Fuji noted, "Judging by your reaction I can see you're being protective. Is he related to you?" Ryoma's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"W-what?" Ryoma spluttered, "Roko isn't-"

"Ah, so his name is Roko. You're on first-name basis with him, so he must be related to you. Is he your brother?" Fuji asked.

Ryoma could feel his mask crumbling. What was going on? How was Fuji doing this to him? He looked behind Fuji and noticed the others were looking on with amusement. That seemed to snap him out of it.

"I've already answered your question, Fuji-senpai" he said irritated, before turning to walk away.

"He must be your brother" he heard Fuji say, "he looks like you". Ryoma kept on walking like Fuji had said nothing.

"Definitely his brother" Inui said in the background.

"Hey, Echizen!" he heard Momoshiro call, "how come I've never seen your brother?"

_Keep walking_, Ryoma told himself. He'd already given too much away, and wasn't in any mood to make it worse.

Meanwhile Fuji shared an evil grin with Inui, who had finished scribbling in his data book.

"We must meet this Echizen Roko, don't you agree?" he asked, and Inui smiled widely.


	17. Roko's iPod

**Update - I'm having major writer's block at the moment. I can't seem to come up with a reasonable conversation/plot so I write these lukewarm paragraphs that I immediately delete. So it kind of sucks...**

**I know you were expecting plot, but here's a filler chapter instead. Because we love those.**

**And 10 points to whoever can guess what PoT fanfic this chapter was inspired by.**

**Double points if you can identify both songs :)**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Marui sat on a bench in the clubhouse, shamelessly eating a vanilla-iced muffin with a raspberry filling. He loved these muffins, and knew the owner of the café that made them, entitling him to buy as many cakes as he wants and not get weird looks.

Marui loved sweets more than anything, and in his opinion it was perfectly ok to consume his body mass in sweets daily. It helped that all the tennis training prevented him from getting fat. Sanada would go nuts if he spotted the slightest bit of fat and order Marui to run until it was worked off.

Things had become much more mechanical at Rikkaidai ever since Yukimura left. It was the same routine – running 50 laps with 5kg on each leg, followed by practice matches with the weights still on, sound and hearing training, and then more laps with the weights before the practice finishes. Sanada had engineered the entire thing within a few days of Yukimura being sent to the hospital, and things didn't operate as smoothly as they did before, because with Sanada it seemed rather like a chore. But Yukimura inspired the players to work their hardest and keep them going. That's what the team lacked – inspiration, though they were currently ploughing through the District Tournament, a place full of newbie players, so it was kind of hard to find inspiration, even with Yukimura. But there was even less of that than usual, and Marui especially wondered how much the team had changed.

Echizen joining the team was at least a nice change. It was different to have someone who willingly stood up to Sanada and told him what was on his mind, but Marui had noticed how Sanada's attitude was softening towards him. He'd heard about how Echizen was tutoring him in English, and Marui was rather surprised that a freshman was tutoring him, even if the kid was fluent.

Marui kind of liked Echizen, even though he knew nothing about the kid. It was honestly frustrating that without Sanada around he couldn't express his thoughts unless he had a pen and paper, which he usually didn't, and Marui could kind of understand how annoying it must be to try to talk to someone who couldn't understand what you were saying.

As much as Marui wanted to know Echizen, he couldn't, but he told himself he would try. After all, the kid would nearly always buy a cake from the cafeteria during lunch or bring one to school. It seemed that he really loved cake, and Marui felt happy as he realised there might be someone in the universe who understands his sweets obsession.

His thoughts were interrupted as Echizen himself walked in, with his usual black hair across his left eye, passive mask and earphones in place.

"Hey, Echizen" Marui greeted with a wave, Echizen nodded in response and put down his tennis bag, earphones and iPod, putting the two in his school bag before quickly getting changed and leaving with his racket in hand.

Marui ate his muffin during this, and looked up to notice that Echizen was gone, and he sighed loudly, noticing something shiny out of the corner of his eye.

There was Echizen's blue iPod and earphones in his open school bag, shining with an almost tempting glare.

Marui quickly stepped across the room and snatched the iPod, already scrolling through the freshman's music before he could think.

_This is the perfect way to get to know him better_, Marui thought. But then stopped, realising that all of the music titles were in English.

_Damn, I don't understand any of these titles_, he thought irritably as he scrolled through them. There had to be some way to figure out what these songs meant. It didn't mean anything if he didn't understand the lyrics.

A sudden thought came to him.

"Yanagi!" he called, bolting out of the room. But then he stopped.

He returned to the room quickly, taking the last piece of his beloved vanilla muffin and stuffing it into his mouth before taking off again in search of the data master.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Yanagi instantly snapped his head towards the distance when he heard his name being called, and a few moments later a red blur shot out of the clubroom towards him. The red blur stopped right in front of Yanagi, and Marui was already shoving a device in his face.

"Yanagi-san, can you translate these?" he said quickly, and Yanagi raised an eyebrow, before taking the device and tapping the screen.

"This is Echizen's iPod" he realised, turning back to Marui with a disapproving glare. Marui held up his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, it is, I just wanted to understand what kinda music Echizen listens to, but it's all in English" he explained quickly, and Yanagi sighed again.

"That's not surprising, considering he grew up in America"

"So will you do it?" Marui asked.

"This is wrong, Marui, stealing Echizen's iPod to get to know him" he said in a scolding tone, and Marui frowned.

"So you won't help?" he asked innocently.

Yanagi opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as a thought came to him. Echizen was indeed an anomaly, an anomaly that Yanagi had almost no data on, and he held in his hands on object that the freshman never parted with, and it contained not only Echizen's style of music, but the kind of rhythm and lyrics that appealed to Echizen. While that may not be so important to some, to Yanagi this was _very_ important.

_Don't do it_, half of his mind said, _this is wrong. You'll only get in trouble over this_

_Do it, _the other half of his mind said,_ this is the best chance for data you're ever going to get_

_Don't do it!_

_Do it!_

_Don't do it!_

_Do it!_

_Don't do it!_

_Do-_

"Yanagi-san?"

Yanagi was knocked out of his thoughts by a troubled-looking Marui, and Yanagi realised he'd been spacing out the entire time.

"Alright" he said, and Marui gave a small cheer in response.

"On one condition" Yanagi said quickly.

"What?" Marui asked curiously.

"You must make sure that Niou does not get anywhere_ near_ this" he said, emphasising the word 'near', and Marui nodded his head in understanding.

"I won't" he stated confidently.

"Alright" Yanagi said, scrolling through the iPod. Marui sat down next to him, and pointed at one song on the screen.

"What's that one?" he asked, sounding like a curious child. Yanagi narrowed his already-narrowed eyes as he translated the words in his mind.

"Burn It Down" he translated.

"Ohh" Marui chirped, "that sounds good, play that one". Yanagi nodded once and tapped the screen.

Immediately there was a slow intro of what sounded like an electronic keyboard, and Yanagi and Marui were both slightly surprised, followed by a tune that layered on top of the intro, which sounded like a second, more techno-based electronic keyboard. That was then quickly followed by a slow beat of a drum that sounded like a heartbeat. The intro became louder and louder until there was a burst of sound that made Yanagi and Marui jump. The intro was suddenly louder, faster and catchier, and Yanagi was appropriately shocked.

_**The cycle repeated ~**_

_**As explosions broke in the sky**_

_**All that I needed ~**_

_**Was the one thing I couldn't find**_

_**And you were there at the turn**_

_**Waiting to let me knooow ~**_

_Techno music? _Yanagi thought. The music suddenly became louder, and the singer was now practically shouting over the techno rhythm.

_**We're building it uupp ~**_

_**To break it back doowwnn ~**_

_**We're building it uuuupp ~**_

_**To burn it down**_

_**We can't wait, to burn it to the ground ~**_

The lyrics were followed by the same beat of electronic keyboards as the intro, and Yanagi decided to pause it.

Marui seemed to be even more shocked than he was, and Yanagi was reflexively reaching for his data book.

"The kid listens to techno music?" He asked shocked, and Yanagi didn't even reply, already scribbling in his data book.

_No_, he thought, _it wasn't techno music; it was a more vocal style. Electronic music, possibly?_

"Interesting" Yanagi said when he finished scribbling, "shall we play more?" he asked. Marui nodded his head quickly, and pointed to another song when Yanagi was scrolling through the list.

"That one!" he said excitedly.

"Had Enough" Yanagi translated, and pressed the play button.

There was an immediate chorus of rock guitars that made the two jump again, contrasting greatly from the previous electronic music. The chorus of heavy guitars went on for a while.

_Rock music?_ Yanagi thought. He started scribbling in his data book as the lyrics began.

_**Milk it for all its worth**_

_**Make sure you get there first**_

_**The apple of your eye**_

_**The rotten core inside ~**_

_**You are a precipice**_

_**Things couldn't get much worse**_

_**I've had it all to here**_

_**You know your end is near**_

There was a short guitar solo, in which Yanagi and Marui exchanged confused looks.

_**You had to have it all**_

_**Well have you had enough?**_

_**You greedy little bastard you,**_

_**You'll get what you deserve ~**_

_**When all is said and done**_

_**I will be the one ~**_

_**To leave you in your misery**_

_**And hate what you've become ~**_

Yanagi decided to pause it, and Marui seemed to get over the shock and turned to him.

"What did those lyrics mean?" he asked. Yanagi hesitated for a while, who knew a freshman listened to rock and electronic music?

"The first song was about destroying something the artist had built up, presumably a relationship, judging by the lyrics" Marui's face registered appropriate shock.

"The second song was about the artist getting revenge on someone and leaving them in despair"

The two shared a rather awkward and thoughtful silence, both very shocked by their kouhai's music tastes.

"You should put this back" Yanagi said, handing the iPod back to Marui. Marui nodded and took it, taking off without a word.

Yanagi smiled to himself as he looked through his data book, happy with this new information he had collected.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Marui was actually very shocked by the kid's music. He knew that his music was loud, but rock and electronic music? He wasn't expecting that at all.

Marui stepped into the clubroom, still staring at the iPod like it was an alien.

"What'cha got there?" a voice asked, and Marui jumped at the voice of the one Yanagi didn't want near the iPod. Marui quickly put it behind his back as Niou stared at him curiously.

"Nothing" he said a bit too quickly. Niou shrugged once, ignoring the comment and passed Marui and went out the door, and Marui didn't move an inch until he had left, and gave a loud sigh of relief.

He approached Echizen's still-open bag with relief and put the iPod back in.

Or he would have, if it was still in his hand.

Marui gaped, staring at his hand like he expected the iPod to suddenly appear in it.

_How?..._ he wondered, and wondered and wondered.

And then it hit him, and Marui paled.

"_**NIOU!" **_he cried, dashing out of the clubroom as if his life depended on it, which it probably did.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Niou knew immediately that whatever Marui had in his hands was important enough to him to keep away from Niou, and he had immediately decided that whatever it was, it was his.

So when he swiped the device and quickly ran for his life, getting as much distance between him and the clubroom, he caught his breath and looked at the device in his hand.

It was an iPod, he realised, and frowned.

This wasn't Marui's. Marui's was red and was a different version. This one was the newer model, and it was blue.

"_**NIOU!"**_ he heard, and Niou chuckled at the thought of Marui's infuriated face.

But whose iPod was this? Had Marui stolen it? Should he turn it into Sanada and say that Marui was playing with someone else's iPod?

_No,_ he decided,_ that's not my style._

But then whose was it? Was it Jackal's? Did Jackal own an iPod?

_Why have I seen this before?_ He thought.

…

…

…

…

…

Niou's eyes widened and he stared at the iPod for a moment longer, confirming his suspicions.

_It's Echizen's iPod! No wonder Marui was hiding it!_

Without a moment's hesitation Niou unlocked it, frowning as he realised the songs were in English. He supposed it didn't matter, as long as he got the gist.

He pressed play with an excited smile.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Roko mentally sighed in exasperation as he returned from Sanada's brutal training regime. It seemed that Sanada himself was bothering the freshmen, which was fine with him; it meant he could do the regime without Sanada screaming down his ear.

He reached his bag and searched through it, finding the towel and bottle he kept in there, wiping the sweat off his face and chugging down the water. He smiled as he realised he was in complete silence for once, and decided he should listen to his music. He reached into the pocket where he kept it, but only pulled out his earphones.

He blinked.

And again.

And again.

And then it dawned on him.

_Someone has stolen my iPod!_

He was on his feet in an instant, shooting out of the room like a rocket.

_They. Are going. To die._


	18. The Chase Begins

**So I have this amazing idea/plot thing planned for the next few chapters, and I'm so excited to publish them that I kind of threw my writer's block out the window so I can get on with the good stuff.**

**And gz to onyxnlife, the only person to figure out what this arc (yes, I'm calling it an arc) was inspired by.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

"So let me get this straight" Sanada began, "Marui brought you Echizen's iPod, wanting you to translate the songs so he could know more about Echizen. You did that, and then Marui took it back to the clubhouse, and now he, Niou and Echizen are all missing". Yanagi nodded his head.

"The most likely outcome was that Niou stole Echizen's iPod from Marui, and Marui is giving chase after Niou, whilst Echizen discovered his iPod was missing and went to look for it himself"

"Heh?" Kirihara asked, "what was Echizen's music like anyway, Yanagi-senpai?" Sanada gave him a death glare and Kirihara immediately shrank back.

"Yanagi" Sanada said, massaging his temples, "why on Earth did you agree to this?"

Yanagi didn't think that '_I did it to gather data'_ would be a good response.

"I did it to humour Marui, he seemed to want to know Echizen quite well" he said in his measured tone. Sanada sighed loudly.

"Echizen is not stupid" Yanagi continued, "He knows that the only people who would steal it are Marui, Niou and Akaya"

"Hey!" Kirihara cried, but was ignored.

"Akaya was playing a practice match with Yagyuu on the court opposite to where Echizen was playing, so Echizen would strike Akaya off the list. So he'll be looking for Niou and Marui"

"And where might they be?" Yagyuu asked calmly, and Yanagi turned to him.

"I thought you and Jackal might be able to guess, being their doubles partners" he explained.

"Marui will be all over the place" Jackal said, "He won't stop until he's found it, so until then it'll be impossible to find him"

"Knowing Niou" Yagyuu followed, "He has probably gone to a secluded, quiet place to listen to Echizen's music. But with club activities there are many, many places that fit that description" Everyone gave a large sigh. It seemed they weren't going to get far.

"But" Yagyuu added when there was silence, "He will definitely use this opportunity to humiliate Echizen"

"Except we don't know how or where" Sanada said bluntly.

There was another long silence.

"Everyone" Sanada said flatly, "Regular practice is cancelled. Find the three of them and bring them back"

The regulars all stared in shock at Sanada. He was _cancelling_ regular practice! THE Sanada Genichiro! Was the apocalypse beginning? Yanagi was already reaching for his notebook to record this historical event.

"Did you not hear me?" he boomed, "Go!"

And suddenly every single regular was gone, leaving Sanada to watch the yellow and black jerseys disappear around the corner of the clubhouse.

He massaged his temples, feeling a migraine coming.

_This is the last thing we need_, he thought irritably.

**Class 3B – Economics**

Niou smiled widely as he scrolled through the English titles of his kouhai's iPod. While he didn't understand what the artists were saying, it was still amusing to hear what kind of music Echizen listened to all this time.

Niou sat on top of the teacher's desk in the empty classroom, hunched forward as he scrolled through excitedly. Who knew a freshman had so much potential blackmail on his iPod? It wasn't particularly embarrassing music, but Niou knew how much Echizen treasured his iPod more than anything, so the amount of things he could force Echizen to do to get his iPod back made Niou grin smugly.

He had chosen the perfect place to listen to the kid's music. The classroom was located at the very corner of the school, which was rarely used and was used for the worst subject imaginable. No one like Economics, not even Yanagi, the school nerd.

It also helped that the sounds of the music that would potentially go through the door were drowned out by the sounds of the cooking club next door, all of them chatting and baking and the occasional _ping_ of an oven or microwave.

He knew this would be one of those scenarios where it's the last place anyone would think to look, so it's immediately obvious, but Niou could tell by the fact that there had been no raging pink-haired tensai at the door in the last ten minutes that Marui wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. He internally cackled at the thought of Marui finally realising that maybe he isn't a genius after all, but he doubted it would happen, Marui was too stubborn when it came to his self-image.

Niou was honestly shocked at what his kouhai listened to. Being a freshman and all, he expected some lame Japanese pop music, not English rock and techno music. But he supposed he knew very little about the freshman, so he couldn't really be that surprised. He recognized some of the words – mostly curses, which were pretty abundant in some of the songs – so he could piece together the lyrics in his mind, and was infinitely amused by how the artists would literally scream over the guitars and electronic keyboards in the background.

He had been wondering how exactly he could use this to his advantage. He could make Echizen slave labour, but Niou was sure that at some point he would steal it back, so that idea was quickly dismissed.

_How could I use this?_ He wondered.

And suddenly as if a light bulb went off in his head, Niou smiled widely and dashed out the door.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Rooftop Garden**

Marui practically crashed into the door as he slammed it open while still in a sprint, and had crossed the garden in an instant and looked all around. Niou wasn't here either.

He gritted his teeth in anger, mentally scolding himself for the hundredth time at the thought that he had let down Yanagi and doomed Echizen. He could only imagine the horrors that Niou would cause with the kid's iPod, and Marui dreaded to think of how pissed Echizen was right now.

He sat down on the ground, realising suddenly how tired he was, and allowed himself to catch a breath. It felt like since he went after Niou, all he had done is run and run and run.

It occurred to Marui in that moment that he should have collapsed from exhaustion long ago. He'd been searching for near half an hour, sprinting continually the entire time, and with a small pang of satisfaction that he'd destroyed his record time before catching a breath. He realised he'd been running so much because he was scared of Yanagi if he came back empty-handed, and scared for Echizen at the idea of what Niou would do.

The door swung open and Jackal and Yanagi appeared in the doorway, their eyes quickly scanning the room before landing on Marui.

"Bunta!" Jackal exclaimed, "How long have you been here?" He had already crossed the distance between them and was looking down at Marui with a scolding parent-kind of look. Marui felt kind of awkward at how Jackal looked like his parents in that moment.

"Not long" Marui said, holding his hands up in surrender, "I got tired so I thought I'd rest here". Jackal sighed loudly, and Yanagi appeared next to him.

"Interesting. This far exceeds my data on your stamina, Marui" he murmured, already scribbling in his notebook, which he had pulled out from nowhere, and the two left Yanagi to his ramblings.

"We've been looking everywhere for you" Jackal continued in his parent persona. Marui nodded his head guiltily.

"I know. This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so curious about Echizen" he mumbled loudly, expecting a sharp response.

"I think your curiosity is perfectly natural" Yanagi said, looking up from his book. Marui popped his apple gum.

"I believe that everyone in the team is curious about Echizen to a certain degree" he continued, "For example, the fact that Niou has not yet returned Echizen's iPod means he too is interested in our kouhai" There was a pause.

"It's what he will do after that's the problem" Jackal finished. Yanagi nodded his head.

"Precisely".

Marui sighed loudly. It seemed that his curiosity had got him into deeper trouble than he imagined. What was the saying? 'Curiosity killed the cat?'

"Wait" Marui blurted, turning to Jackal, "Does that mean you're interested in Echizen too?" Jackal immediately blushed and rubbed the back of his bald, shiny head awkwardly.

"Don't put it like that" he said awkwardly, "It sounds really weird". Marui paused, realising it did sound kinda weird, but chose to ignore it.

"Do you?" he asked persistently.

"I guess so" Jackal admitted with a shrug, "I mean, we've never heard Echizen talk, or seen him smile, or do anything other than play tennis"

Marui stopped, realising how true those words were. They'd never seen their kouhai smile. Did that make them bad as senpais? To be unable to make their kouhai smile? It was true, Echizen never expressed his true emotions to them at all, he just kept his thoughts behind that passive mask of his.

_Does he not trust us?_ He had to wonder.

But it was the last part that bothered Marui more than anything. Echizen had been a regular for two weeks now and they knew nothing about him. It wasn't that Echizen didn't show anything, but rather that they didn't bother getting to know him. Everyone had acknowledged that Sanada is the only one who can communicate with him, so in a way they let Sanada get to know Echizen for them. Because he was mute they never bothered to speak to him.

Marui immediately felt waves of guilt, for starting all of this. He had stolen his iPod for his own selfish reasons, wanting to understand Echizen when an alternative was right in front of him, but he simply chose not to take it and instead took the premature, easier option. He wondered what Echizen thought of them. Did he think they were friends? Or sempais?

Did he think of them at all?

"Bunta!"

Marui jolted up at the call, and Jackal was kneeling in front of him with a concerned expression on his face. Marui realised he'd been spacing out during his internal debate. He was on his feet immediately.

"I need to find Echizen" he proclaimed, "I need to apologize to him"

And Marui shot off in an instant, taking two steps before he slowed, and panted heavily, forgetting how tired he was.

"Bunta!" he heard Jackal cry again.

"Marui, you shouldn't be running after you've been active for so long without rest" Yanagi said in the background.

Marui found it impossible to protest with the short breaths he was taking, and steadied himself on a low brick wall of the garden.

"Jackal" he said weakly.

"Yes?" he heard him reply.

"Carry me" Marui ordered.

"No"

"But Jackal –"

"No"

Marui looked up at his doubles partner and gave him the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage and pouted cutely. He could see the hesitation in Jackal's eyes after a few moments, and Marui continued until Jackal was practically sweating.

"Fine" he said in defeat.

"Yay!" Marui cheered, jumping onto Jackal's back, and he could hear him grunt and mumbling under his breath.

"Onward, steed!" he cried, pointing towards the door.

"Call me 'steed' and I'll drop you down the stairs" was Jackal's curt reply.

Marui paused.

"Onward, stallion!" he cried, and Jackal sighed loudly and slowly carried Marui towards the door.

Yanagi watched the whole scene with a very large amused smirk.

"New data…" he mumbled under his breath, writing neatly in his notebook.


	19. Wild Animals

**For those of you wondering. No, there isn't really a pairing in this fanfic. I mean, I've never wrote romance before so there could be I guess. Open to suggestions, though I have ideas already.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

Yagyuu had no idea where he was supposed to be looking. True, he was looking for his doubles partner, someone who he had trained for countless hours with, but that didn't make him any more predictable. In fact, the more Yagyuu discovered about Niou, the less predictable he became.

Kirihara was being of no help at all, complaining the entire time about how they would never find Niou in this huge school. As much as Yagyuu wanted to agree with him, he knew that the negative influence would only make the task even more tedious than it already was, so in his most gentlemanly way possible, he told Kirihara to please be quiet, but he could not help but let a slight bit of irritation slip into his voice. That effectively ended the conversation between them, which was fine by Yagyuu, as long as he didn't hear anymore whining.

They had already checked the rooftop garden, the assembly hall, the library, the cafeteria and the school grounds twice, including the largest cherry blossom tree in the grounds, which was their favourite spot. It seemed to Yagyuu that Niou had disappeared off the face of the Earth, which for him was probably likely.

Yagyuu didn't understand why on Earth Niou was so interested in Echizen's music. It seemed to him that listening to someone's music tells you nothing about their real selves – all it tells you is what kind of music they like, it doesn't mean anything really. Their music isn't any real reflection on themselves or anything useful, so Yagyuu concluded that Niou took Echizen's iPod for reasons of blackmail or humiliation. It made Yagyuu cringe inwardly at the thought.

"Ne, Yagyuu-senpai, where would be the best place to play music?" Kirihara asked out of the blue. Yagyuu stopped, and turned to Kirihara quizzically.

"What do you mean, Kirihara-san?" he asked politely.

"Well" Kirihara explained, "If I had Echizen's iPod and I wanted to trick him with it, the only way you'd be able to do it is by playing his music, so I guess I'd find the best place to play it, where everyone would hear it"

Yagyuu just stared.

There were moments where Kirihara was so obtuse and blunt that Yagyuu wondered how on Earth this five year old in a thirteen year old body had a functioning brain. And then there were moments where Kirihara would have sparks of genius that made Yagyuu instantly feel guilty for ever considering the second year was an idiot.

This was one of those moments.

"Where the entire school would hear it…" Yagyuu wondered out loud. Kirihara just stared in the hope of an answer.

_Where the entire school would hear it…_

Yagyuu felt his face fall as he realised with terror the one place that Niou would be. How did he not think of this before? The answer was obvious and no one had even considered what anyone might do with an iPod: play music.

"Yagyuu-senpai?" he heard Kirihara call, probably noticing the fact he was paling.

"I know where he is" Yagyuu stated, and took off immediately down the corridors. Kirihara stared after him quizzically for a moment, before realising he was supposed to follow, and proceeded to chase after him.

**Headmaster's Office**

Niou smiled widely as he extracted Echizen's blue iPod from his pocket and placed it on the headmaster's desk. This was perfect, everyone would hear his music this way, and Niou had to mentally scold himself for not thinking of this before.

Fortunately the headmaster himself wasn't in school today. Something about visiting a teacher's conference, but Niou didn't particularly care at the moment. Right now he was trying to find the button that would activate the intercom so he could start playing the music.

His hands strayed all over the desk, trying to find a small button or something that would do what he hoped, but with so much paper and crap all over the desk the task seemed impossible. Niou didn't want to mess anything up, so he could escape without any evidence he was there. It was true that the tennis team knew he'd stolen it, but that little problem could be settled later.

_Where's the damn button?_ He thought irritably, as he searched the desk for the third time.

_Ah-hah!_ He spotted the very small silver button on the edge of the desk, and Niou resisted the urge to test it. He had to do this quickly, if it wasn't the right button, then no one would hear it anyway.

Niou then realised a problem. The intercom could only keep going as long as the button was held down, and Niou wanted to be as far away as possible. So he immediately rectified the situation by taking a book from one of the desk's drawers and balancing it on the arm of the chair so it was in front of the button. He just hoped it wouldn't fall off.

Niou unlocked the kid's iPod and put it on shuffle, it instantly blaring out a loud chorus of rock guitars that made Niou jump several feet in the air. He quickly paused and rewound it back to the start, smiling as he placed the iPod next to the microphone.

He moved the chair forward. The book on the arm didn't move, and pressed onto the button. Niou smiled at the thought that every single student in the building was unaware the intercom had been activated.

And without further ado he pressed play, and suddenly the loudest chorus of guitars echoed throughout the school.

Niou jumped even higher than he did before, and when he hit the ground, he burst out laughing at the thought of the confused and horrified faces of the teachers as rock guitars resounded through the walls.

Damn, it was really loud…

Niou decided to take that as his queue to leave, and swiftly reached for the door.

But the door moved from the other side, opening toward Niou, giving a full view of who had opened it, and Niou was paralyzed as he saw the most terrifying thing in his life.

The one, blazing golden eye of a freshman whose aura promised the most painful death imaginable.

Niou felt the need to run, and he didn't hesitate to sprint for his life, but suddenly the demon was in front of him, and Niou screamed.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

There were several ways to describe the rush of teachers from every classroom with terrifying expressions, and Sanada running ahead, infuriated more than any of them, his face the epitome of a thundercloud.

Some would call it an angry mob.

Some would call it a parade.

Sanada would call it _massacre_.

Because that was exactly what would happen to Niou. He would be _massacred_ for this.

Never had Sanada been so angry when he suddenly heard a million rock guitars playing in unison throughout the school, the sound causing the walls to vibrate. He had immediately understood Niou's plan, and more than anything he wanted to murder his teammate in cold blood.

He was covering ground faster than humanly possible, and he didn't even notice that he had left the teachers far behind. He was already on the floor where the Headmaster's Office was, two more corners and he would be there.

Sanada contemplated all the different ways he could make Niou suffer for this. He would make the trickster run a thousand laps, he would be forced to play tennis until he dropped dead, and he would make sure that he would _never_ see another victim suffer by his pranks ever again.

He would –

The music on the intercom stopped abruptly, and Sanada halted in confusion, scanning the corridors as if they held an answer. After five seconds of silence and confusion, Sanada shrugged it off and continued sprinting, turning the last corner, the Headmaster's Office in sight.

He covered the ground in an instant, ripping open the door and practically throwing it back against the wall.

Sanada froze as he took in the room.

Chaos. The furniture was turned over, papers were scattered everywhere, littering the floor, bookshelves had been toppled with their load dumped on the ground. The headmaster's desk was upside down in the corner of the room, and the contents was all over the room, the microphone in one corner with its wires ripped out – the other half in the socket it was plugged into.

The headmaster's chair was in tatters, trashed in the corner of the room with one arm missing, and a splinter in the base. The rest of the headmaster's belongings were strewn across the ground.

And Niou, sprawled out in the corner of the room, unconscious.

_What on Earth…_ Sanada could not find the words to verbalise his confusion and terror and more confusion. What on Earth had done this to cause so much destruction?

As if on cue, every teacher entered the room, with Yanagi and Yagyuu in front of them. They all froze, but Yanagi took a curious step forward after a while, while the rest remained rooted to the ground.

"Interesting" he thought out loud, "I didn't know we had wild animals in Rikkaidai". Sanada raised an eyebrow.

"Wild animals?"

"Of course, what else would have caused this?" Yanagi asked in his analytical tone. Sanada found it hard to find an alternative, so he just sighed loudly and proceeded to pick up Niou and carry him past the gaping spectators in the doorway.

Sanada decided after a while that Niou would not be punished, since it seemed he'd already been punished by whatever horrible creature lurks in this school. He just hoped that it wouldn't come back.

**Echizen Household**

"You're home early" Ryoma noted as his twin brother stepped through the door. It didn't seem like anything had changed, Roko still looked the same, his hair was fine, and his clothes were fine, he had his bag and earphones, but he was early. Didn't he have tennis practice? Roko made signs quickly.

"_Practice was cancelled"_ his hands said, and Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"Cancelled? What for?" he asked curiously. Roko made more signs.

"_One of the members decided to pull a huge prank and we had to find him"_. Ryoma frowned, that wasn't really a good excuse to miss tennis. The captain was probably just paranoid.

"What happened?" Ryoma asked.

"_He was punished justly"_. Ryoma could see the barest flicker of something in his brother's eye, but decided to ignore it. Whatever it was, it reminded him too much of Fuji-senpai.

"_I'm going to get changed"_ his hands said, and Roko disappeared upstairs, giving Ryoma some peace.

He sighed loudly and looked up at the ceiling. It seemed whatever was going on Roko wasn't going to say anything, and Ryoma knew that this 'just punishment' was probably not just at all. Knowing Roko, it would be the farthest thing from just, but Ryoma didn't want to get involved, so he said nothing.

Ryoma smiled at the realisation that Roko was early today. That meant they could play tennis for longer.

Without a thought Ryoma was on his feet and launched upstairs to their room to challenge Roko to a game.

All was good in the Echizen household.


	20. Lightning Bolt

**Update - I noticed that Roko says 'I don't care' way too many times. So I changed the dialogue and added a few things here and there.**

**Give opinions on this chapter please. You've probably noticed that the past few chapters have been based on Roko's psychology. But the next chapters will actually involve the other regulars, and others :)**

**Streets of Kanagawa**

The bus was due to arrive at the Kanagawa Tennis Gardens in ten minutes, and the Rikkaidai regulars were all seated awaiting the arrival. Kirihara and Niou had engaged in some argument that Sanada couldn't care less about, with Jackal trying to stop them. Marui and Yagyuu pointedly ignored them and engaged in their own conversation, and Echizen was sat by himself, staring out the window with his earphones in his ears.

Sanada couldn't understand Echizen for the life of him. It was true, they spent a lot of time together – though it was forced time together – they didn't engage in conversation often, because they both weren't the talkative type. Sanada's grades in English had improved a lot ever since Echizen had started tutoring him, always bringing a slice of cake with him to eat as Sanada worked on a paragraph. He knew that he was getting soft toward Echizen, since he noticed the amount of times he would have punished someone else for being late or wandering off, but instead he shrugged it off because it was Echizen.

It was concerning to him as a captain. He knew he couldn't be weak for Echizen, and that he had to stop and harden his resolve. But it seemed that the freshman constantly being at Sanada's side had brought out a more peaceful side to him, and Sanada did not like that one bit.

"Yanagi" he said, looking to the data master next to him.

"Hm?" Yanagi responded.

"What data do you have on Echizen?" he asked bluntly. Yanagi nodded in understanding and opened his notebook which materialized in his hand, quickly flicking to his pages on Echizen.

"What would you like to know?" Yanagi asked.

"His tennis style" was Sanada's response. Yanagi scanned the page and opened his mouth to speak.

"Echizen is by far the fastest regular on our team. His tennis style relies heavily on that speed, and so he constantly maintains it to make sure it's at the top standard. He prefers to drop balls into the court from the net, and has a habit of hitting lobs with serves rather than smashing them – meaning his weakness is power" Sanada grunted in response for him to continue.

"To counter this power weakness he developed the Lob Trap and Bait Serve. They work in the same way, the ball is sent flying upwards, and if the opponent smashes, Echizen returns it with a Rising Shot. If the opponent waits for the ball to fall, Echizen dashes to the net and drops it into the court" Sanada nodded, remembering watching Echizen's play and being impressed by the serve that sent the ball flying upwards – the one Yanagi had dubbed Bait Serve.

"And what about his other serve?" Sanada asked. There was a pause from Yanagi before he spoke.

"The Lightning Bolt, a serve that uses the player's left arm. Echizen bends backwards until his back is parallel to the ground, and then hits the ball above him, snapping his wrist and spine in unison like a spring. The ball is sent at around 260km/h, which breaks the record for the fastest serve in an official middle school game"

"But?" Sanada asked. Yanagi sighed.

"But, the serve puts much strain on the arm, as I am sure you have seen. Echizen can only do the serve four times, and then the pain in his arm would force him to stop using it" Sanada grunted and said nothing.

"Is that what you wanted to know?" Yanagi asked.

"Yes" was Sanada's simple reply.

Yanagi nodded and made no room for further conversation, and Sanada looked back at the freshman from the corner of his eye.

_Is that why you keep aspirin in your bag?_

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens Courts**

Roko watched with a rather smug satisfaction as Yagyuu and Niou practically danced around their opponents. This school – whatever their name was – had a rather cocky regular team, cocky enough to believe they were good enough to beat Rikkaidai. Roko was actually rather impressed; this team had guts to stand there and proudly declare they would win against the National Champions. He had hoped that they would be a challenge if they think themselves better, but unfortunately they were only average – better than the team they had played previously, but still sadly average.

"Game and match, Yagyuu-Niou! 6-0!" the umpire called, and there was a sudden cheer from the non-regulars of Rikkaidai who had come to watch.

"_Rikkaidai! Rikkaidai! Always win Rikkaidai!"_

Roko mentally sighed in annoyance as they continually chanted it over and over again, clearly having nothing better to do. Niou and Yagyuu left the courts with an unsatisfied look, which Roko understood. Sanada offered no praise for beating a weak team, and so they both sat down and took a drink of water without a word spoken.

"Next match, Singles 3, Echizen Roko vs Yakuta Ippei" Roko sighed in annoyance as he put down his earphones and iPod – which he had put a password on – before taking off his regulars jacket and picking up his racket.

"_You're_ my opponent?" he heard from across the court. Echizen turned to see a disgusted looking third year with weird brown hair looking at him.

"You've got to be kidding; I have to play against this idiot first year?" he remarked, and almost immediately Sanada was next to him.

"What did you say!?" he roared, but Yakuta was unfazed.

"You heard me. How on Earth can someone who's too stupid to talk even play tennis? You guys are so weak"

Roko rolled his eyes, unfazed by his insults. He'd heard them most of his life and had become accustomed to it, but it seemed that the other regulars didn't agree, and all looked at Yakuta with murderous glares.

"You bastard" Marui said icily. Yakuta just snorted.

"It's true. How do you guys even-"

"Say one more word and you will suffer" Sanada growled, giving his terrifying death glare that would cut through solid stone. Yakuta seemed to hesitate, and thankfully did not say more. Sanada then turned to Roko and gave him an intense look.

"If you drop so much as one point to this idiot you will run laps until you collapse" Sanada stated, and Roko couldn't help but mentally smirk at his comment. It seemed Sanada was rather prideful about his team, and he wanted Roko to destroy this guy. He nodded once and went onto the courts, with Yakuta already waiting at the net. Roko held up his hand to shake with him, but Yakuta just gave his annoying snort.

"No way am I shaking hands with you, I might catch your disease or something". Roko felt a slight tinge of anger and murderous thoughts, but quickly pushed it away. He could see the Rikkaidai regulars were sharing similar murderous thoughts, as were the non-regulars in the crowd, but Yakuta didn't even notice.

Roko returned to the baseline, and bounced a ball in his hand.

"Are you really Echizen Ryoma's brother?"

Roko stopped, and sharply looked up at Yakuta, who stood at the other end of the court folding his arms and had a smug grin.

"You mustn't be, I mean, you can't even speak, never mind play tennis. Echizen Ryoma is leagues apart from you!"

Roko didn't understand how someone from the Kanagawa district knew about his brother, and how good he was. But he didn't really care, because he was now using all his willpower to force down the anger rising in his throat.

_You've heard it all before,_ he told himself,_ ignore it_

He bounced the ball again, blocking out Yakuta's cocky remarks, and served.

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens Courts**

"Echizen Ryoma…" Yanagi muttered.

"Who's he? Echizen's brother?" Marui wondered out loud.

"Well of course he is" Kirihara cut in, "they have the same last name". Marui turned sharply to him.

"I wasn't asking you, Bakaya!" he retorted, and Kirihara's eyes hardened.

"Stop calling me Bakaya, Marui-senpai" he growled, and the engaged in a staring contest.

"Enough" Sanada growled, not in any mood to break up a petty argument. He was annoyed enough at this idiot captain's remarks as it was. Fortunately, it seemed Echizen was having no trouble with him, but despite this, the idiot made a derogatory remark after every point he lost. He probably didn't even care that he was losing.

"Game, Echizen! 3-0! Change court" the umpire called. The two players moved to the opposite sides, Yakuta looking at Echizen with an open disgust that made Sanada's blood boil.

"I'm impressed, the mute boy can play" he suddenly remarked, and Sanada resisted to urge to kill him right there and then. Kirihara was on his feet in an instant.

"He's beating you, you moron!" he called, but Yakuta gave his ugly snort again and pretended like he didn't hear it.

Sanada could see in Echizen's eye that he was supressing a lot of anger and rage. It wasn't surprising really, and Sanada was actually impressed that Yakuta hadn't been killed by now; their freshman had a lot of self-control.

Yakuta was bouncing the ball to serve, and he looked up at Echizen with his annoying cocky grin.

"I'm going to destroy you now, you idiot kid" he remarked. Sanada could see Echizen twitch slightly, and his eye widened into a murderous look.

"You don't deserve to be in Rikkaidai, you stupid little mute boy"

And Echizen snapped.

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens Courts**

"How on Earth can someone who's too stupid to talk even play tennis?"

_Shut up…_

"No way am I shaking hands with you, I might catch your disease or something"

_Shut up…_

"Are you really Echizen Ryoma's brother?"

_Shut up…_

"Echizen Ryoma is leagues apart from you!"

_Just shut up…_

"I'm impressed the mute boy can play"

_Shut up…_

"I'm going to destroy you now, you idiot kid"

_Shut up!_

"You don't deserve to be in Rikkaidai, you stupid little mute boy"

_**SHUT UP!**_

…

"15-0!"

_Good. Send another one at me, I'll return it again_

…

"30-0!"

_I've used it twice now. Two more times and then I have to stop._

_He's going to serve, get ready_

…

"40-0!"

_He looks terrified…_

_Good. Be afraid of me. I'll crush you, Yakuta Ippei!_

…

"Game Echizen! 4-0!"

_It's my turn to serve now._

_Don't use the Lightning Bolt; it puts too much strain on your arm. You've used it four times._

...

"15-0!"

_Good! I will destroy him if I keep this up_

_You've used it five times now! Sanada will be angry!_

_I don't care._

...

"30-0!"

_Are you looking at Sanada? Do you know how angry he looks? You disobeyed him and went over the limit_

_So I'll end this quicker_

_Do you have any idea what might happen to your arm?_

_It doesn't matter_

_Don't use that serve again._

...

"40-0!"

_You used it._

_I did. I'm going to make this guy pay. I'll destroy him_

_You think that straining your arm is the answer? You don't need to go all-out to beat him._

_No, I'm going to punish him. I'll make him dread the day he called me 'mute boy'_

...

"Game, Echizen! 5-0!"

_You've doubled your limit. Stop it now. Your arm is shaking from the pain._

_Is it? I didn't even notice_

_Do you even realise what might happen if you go too far?_

_It will be fine, my arm will heal_

_No it won't! It doesn't work like that! This could be serious!_

_It won't be serious_

_I can't convince you, can I?_

_No_

_Do. Not. Use. It. Use your right hand from now on._

…

"15-0!"

_You didn't use it, that's an improvement_

_Shut up_

_You can't even put your racket in your left hand because it hurts that much_

_Yes I can_

…

_See? You can't physically hold it, it hurts so much._

_I don't care. I'll do it anyway._

…

"30-0!"

_Stop trying to put your racket in your left hand! It won't work._

_Shut up_

…

"40-0!"

_One more point. One more and the pain will be over. You just have to not use the Lightning Bolt for one more point._

_I'm going to use it._

_What!? You can't! You can't even put your racket in your hand_

…

_You idiot! Are you even paying attention to the pain? Do you think aspirin alone will fix this?_

_No, but I'm going to win anyway_

_Don't use it. Please._

_Shut up._

…

"Game and match, Echizen Roko! 6-0!"

…

_You dropped the racket._

_I can't hold it anymore._

_Because you didn't listen to me!_

_It hurts so much…_

_Because you didn't listen to me!_

_It hurts…_

_Sanada is coming._

_Oh no, I know that look_

…

_He slapped me again._

_You deserved it._

_He's screaming at me._

_Again, you deserved it._

_Why is everyone looking at me like I'm near death?_

_Probably because you're pale and sweating from the pain, or did you even notice?_

…

_I'm leaving. Ryoma's game starts in half an hour._

_You know Sanada is going crazy at you?_

_He can go crazy at me later._

…

_I can't believe you just walked away like that._

_I have to be there for Ryoma's game._

_You really put others before yourself don't you? You could go to hospital and yet you're more interested in Ryoma. It's unhealthy._

_I don't care._

…

_Whose voice is calling?_

_Doesn't matter, the train station is close by._

_At least take some aspirin first_

_Fine_


	21. Fudomine and Seigaku

**Lots of talk. No plot. Enjoy?**

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens****  
**

The pain in Roko's left arm had receded somewhat into a dull ache that throbbed when he moved it, which he tried to ignore. Ryoma's game was going to begin in twenty minutes or so, and so Roko had some free time to do whatever. He wasn't sure if Ryoma and the rest of Seigaku were even here yet, but he supposed it didn't matter as long as he got to watch them play.

After his match against Yakuta Ippei, Roko was in no mood for conversation, and so he just sat on one the benches with his music playing in his ears, calming him down. He knew that when he returned to Rikkaidai tomorrow, Sanada would probably kill him, or make him wish he was dead. While he was on the train he had contemplated everything he had done, and decided that using the Lightning Bolt nine times was not worth it at all. It was true that Yakuta had looked terrified of him, but when Roko's anger receded he realised that spreading terror would only make people more discriminative of him. In a way he'd accomplished the opposite of what he wanted, and he mentally slapped himself for being such an idiot.

No, he deserved whatever kind of punishment Sanada would give him, because he recklessly disobeyed him and nearly did serious damage to his arm. It had taken two tablets of aspirin to dull the pain, and even then it wasn't completely gone, but Roko didn't want to take a third, and made a mental note to buy more aspirin; he'd been using a lot of it lately.

He didn't know what his teammates would think of him. He remembered their looks of concern and fear and confusion, even from Yanagi, and he had to wonder if they thought he was some kind of freak for how relentlessly he played. Roko understood he had gone too far, but at the same time he could not say he would have done anything different.

Yakuta Ippei was the perfect example of what people had always said to him for most of his life. People would think that being mute just means you have a learning difficulty, rather than a psychological state of mind, and would brand Roko for his inability to speak. To them he was just too stupid to talk, and going by this logic, they found it unbelievable that he could play a competitive sport like tennis. Roko had always stomached everything that people had said and just ignored them, but Yakuta brought all of that anger to the surface, like an exploding bottle of soda after you shake it.

No, Yakuta deserved what he got, and Roko wouldn't change a thing, even if his arm throbbed with pain.

"It's that rude guy!" someone called, and Roko looked up to see a girl with coffee-brown hair, who he recognized from Seigaku's first game.

_That's right, she was the spy_

Before Roko could react an older boy with unnatural-looking dark red hair shot forward and glared at Roko intensely. Roko was unfazed by it and just stared back at him, not bothering to remove his earphones.

"Are you the kid that refused to speak to Ann-chan?" he demanded. Roko mentally filed the name 'Ann' for later use, and rolled his eyes at the red-haired guy. His expression grew angrier in response.

"Apologize to her!" he ordered, and Roko mentally sighed. He was in no mood for this.

"Kamio!" came a deep voice, and 'Kamio' immediately shrank back, making way for a taller guy with very short black hair and a spot on his forehead. Roko noted the others standing behind Ann who wore the same jerseys as 'Kamio' and this guy, so they were probably part of a tennis team.

"I'm sorry about Kamio's behaviour, but he's just protective of my little sister" the guy explained, and Roko looked between the tall guy and Ann. They looked nothing alike, were they really siblings? Roko just nodded his head in understanding.

The tall guy frowned at him for a moment.

"Have I seen you before?" he asked curiously, and Roko blinked at his question. Have they met before? He had no idea. They might have done at Seigaku's first game, and then Roko forgot about him. But he didn't think so…

Roko shook his head as a response. The tall guy looked unconvinced, but nodded his head, dropping the subject.

"What's your name?" he asked, and Roko supressed a scowl. Great, the one question he couldn't avoid without looking totally rude. Roko wasn't in any mood to deal with Kamio shouting at him again, but thankfully he had his bag, and the pen and paper in the side pocket in case he needed them. He quickly reached into his bag, earning a frown of confusion from the tall guy and his team behind him. Roko withdrew the pen and paper and neatly wrote on it.

_Echizen Roko._ The paper said, and the tall guy's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Echizen?" he asked, and the rest of his team gave a collective gasp, suddenly looking at Roko with curious intensity. Roko just nodded. Suddenly Kamio shot forward again.

"You're related to Echizen Ryoma?" he asked quickly, and Roko tried not to scowl as he basically labelled him as 'Echizen Ryoma's brother'. Roko just nodded again. This time another person in the same jersey came forward. He had shoulder-length black hair, thin blue eyes and a curious expression that reminded him of Yanagi.

"You don't talk much, do you?" he asked, and Roko just shook his head.

"You should really talk more" he noted, and Roko couldn't help but scowl.

"I mean, isn't it unhealthy to not speak to anyone? You would be labelled as rude, not to mention anti-social. Are you shy? Is that why you have that pen and paper? So you can talk to us without speaking? That sounds incredibly crude, not to mention a bother if you ever wanted to-"

"Shinji" the taller guy cut in, with an 'I-will-make-you-run-laps' tone, that reminded Roko of Sanada. This guy was definitely the captain.

_What is up with these people?_ Roko had to wonder.

"I'm sorry about my team's behaviour, Echizen-kun" the tall guy apologized again, and Roko nodded, deciding he liked this guy.

Roko would have wrote on his paper but he noticed in the corner of his eye a flash of blue and white, and turned to see a group of guys wearing tennis jerseys that Roko recognized. They were Seigaku. But where was Ryoma?

The rest of the tall guy's team seemed to notice them too, and visibly straightened at the sight of them.

The team was led by a tall guy with short brown hair, thin glasses and a blank expression, carrying himself like the leader. He was followed by a short girl with shoulder-length coffee-brown hair like Ann's, but she strangely had her eyes closed and smiled angelically like Yukimura. Roko decided that these two were the captain and vice-captain of Seigaku, since they both looked like the type of people that would be respected, but he didn't know that girls could play in this tournament. Maybe he'd read the rules wrong.

"Seigaku" he heard the tall guy utter, and the tall Seigaku captain seemed to notice them.

"Ah, you're our opponents. Fudomine, yes?" he asked politely, and the tall guy nodded.

"Tachibana Kippei" he introduced, holding out his hand.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu" the Seigaku captain replied, shaking the hand in respect.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens**

Fuji Syuusuke scanned Fudomine quickly, looking for potential opponents. Tachibana Kippei seemed like a nice person, nodding respectfully to Tezuka in acknowledgement without bowing down to him. Fuji recognized a small girl behind the team from their first game – the spy with the camera, and internally grimaced.

_They have data on us?_

"And who is this?" Tezuka asked politely, looking in a different direction. Fuji turned to that direction and noticed a very familiar boy sat on the bench with earphones in his ears and a blank expression, and he wore a uniform of a white shirt, black trousers and a blue and white tie that he swore he'd seen before.

"Ah, I believe he introduced himself as Echizen Roko" Tachibana said, and Fuji's eyes snapped open. Echizen? This boy was Ryoma's brother? They did look very similar.

Ah, now he remembered, he was that boy who was watching their first game, the one the team had asked Ryoma about constantly. Before Fuji could say anything to him Eiji and Momoshiro both shot forward.

"Nya!" Eiji cried, "Are you really Ochibi's brother?"

"How come I've never seen you?" Momoshiro asked.

"Why is your hair like that?"

"Do you go to Seigaku?"

"Why did Ochibi never tell us about you?"

"Are you rude like Echizen too?"

"Do you play tennis?"

"What uniform is that?"

Fuji felt sorry for the freshman as he was bombarded with questions he couldn't answer by the two, but internally he felt very pleased that he had met Echizen Roko at last.

"Data…" he heard Inui mumble in the background.

"Fssshhhh" Kaidoh hissed.

"Enough. Kikumaru, Momoshiro, leave Echizen alone" Tezuka cut in, and the two immediately stepped back, allowing Echizen space to breathe. Echizen just rolled his eyes and scanned the team, and Fuji guessed he was looking for Ryoma.

Fudomine seemed to have gotten bored with the antics, and Tachibana nodded to himself.

"We'll take our leave then" he stated, before turning and leading the team away. Fuji saw this as an opportunity, and so he stepped forward to Echizen, who had not moved from the bench or removed his earphones.

"Fuji Syuusuke" he introduced, with a nod of his head, "it's nice to meet you at last, Echizen-kun" he said softly. Echizen's expression didn't change from the hollow look, and he just nodded his head in acknowledgement. Inui then appeared next to him.

"Echizen Roko…" he mumbled, studying the freshman like a museum exhibit, and Echizen's eye twitched in annoyance. Inui then extended his hand.

"Inui Sadaharu" he introduced, and Echizen took the hand and shook it without any trace of acknowledgement in his expression.

_He doesn't talk much_, Fuji noted.

"90% chance you are anti-social like our Echizen" Inui began, "and a 10% chance you are just shy". Fuji saw how Echizen twitched even more in annoyance, and he wondered what had annoyed him so much.

"Are you here to watch our Echizen play?" Fuji asked sweetly, and Echizen nodded once. Fuji tried not to frown at his rudeness.

"Nya! There's Ochibi now" Eiji cried, and everyone turned to see Ryoma walking down the path in his Seigaku jersey, shouldering a tennis bag, with his confident smirk in place. Ryoma seemed to scan the team, and then his eyes landed on the other Echizen, and he stopped, raising an eyebrow.

"Roko?" he asked. Fuji smiled as his suspicions were confirmed.

"Nya! Ochibi! We found your brother!" Eiji cheered as he dragged Ryoma to his brother. Echizen had still not moved from the bench.

"Did they bother you?" Ryoma asked bluntly, when he pulled Eiji off him. Echizen nodded once in response, and Ryoma's eyes became fiery as he turned back to Eiji.

"Kikumaru-senpai" he said icily, which surprised Fuji greatly.

"Ochibi!" Eiji cried, hiding behind Momoshiro, "don't look at me like that!" Ryoma sighed loudly in response, and turned back to his brother.

"Are you going home after we win?" he asked casually, and Fuji chuckled at their kouhai's confidence. Echizen nodded again.

"Wanna get some sushi after?" Ryoma continued, and Fuji internally smiled at the thought of getting to know Ryoma's very quiet brother. But much to Fuji's dismay, Echizen shook his head.

"Oh c'mon!" Momoshiro cried, "why not? I wanna meet Echizen's brother!" Echizen's eye changed for half a second into an expression that Fuji could not detect, before it changed back to its passive gaze, and he just shook his head again.

"Nya! Why don't you talk?" Eiji asked, taking a step forward. Ryoma and his brother both said nothing.

"I mean" he continued, "If you're just rude like Ochibi that's fine, but-"

"He's mute, Kikumaru-senpai" Ryoma cut in with an irritated expression, and Fuji's eyes snapped open. Kikumaru looked confused as he looked at Echizen quizzically, while the rest of the team stared at him wide-eyed.

_Mute? That's awful_, Fuji thought. He didn't know much about being mute, other than it was a psychological state of mind where the person is unable to talk. He suddenly felt something writhe in his gut, which was probably guilt, as he stared sympathetically at Echizen, who was just gazing at their Echizen passively.

"Oishi!" Eiji called, looking back to the vice-captain, "what does that mean?"

"Eiji!" Oishi cried, and quickly pulled him away to have a hushed discussion away from the team.

Fuji could hear Inui scribbling furiously in his notebook, while Kaidoh was hissing silently, and Momoshiro, Taka and Tezuka said nothing, just looking at Echizen with various gazes of sympathy.

Suddenly Echizen raised his hands and made signs to Ryoma.

_Sign language!_ Fuji realised, remembering making similar signs in their first game.

Ryoma nodded in response and smiled.

"Why don't you sit with us during the game?" he offered, and Echizen hesitated before nodding.

Fuji internally cheered as the other Echizen got up from the bench, picking up his bag and nodding to Ryoma, who smiled and lead him to the bleachers of the court they would play in.

"Fuji" he heard Tezuka call, and Fuji looked to his stoic captain.

"Do not interfere" he ordered, and Fuji smiled radiantly.

"I don't know what you mean, Tezuka". Tezuka rolled his eyes but said nothing, leading the rest of the team after the two Echizens, Fuji following suit with a devious smile on his lips.


	22. Meeting the Cheerleaders

**I really need to stop posting two chapters in one day. It's worrying how bored I am.**

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Ryoma was excited. Not because of the actual tennis match, but now his brother was going to watch. Ever since his awful match with Momo-senpai in doubles, he'd wanted to redeem himself in Roko's eyes, and this was his chance. He was not going to lose this opportunity.

"Kyaaa! Ryoma-sama!" came a squeal, and Ryoma groaned as an annoying brunette approached with her quiet friend, Ryuuzaki in tow. Tomaka wore a huge grin as she charged, but then stopped when she noticed Roko behind him.

"Eh? Who's this, Ryoma-sama?" she asked, looking at Roko curiously. Ryuuzaki stopped behind her and shared Tomaka's inquisitive look.

"This is my brother, Roko" he introduced, and Tomaka's eyes suddenly went huge.

"EEEHHH!?" she cried, "There are TWO Ryoma-sama's?" Ryoma mentally groaned as he felt his eardrums practically explode.

"T-Tomaka-chan" Ryuuzaki said quietly, "You're being too loud"

_Yes, _thank you,_ Ryuuzaki_, Ryoma thought. Tomaka turned to her immediately.

"Sakuno! Don't you realise how much of a big deal this is? There's two Ryoma-sama's! TWO!" she cried, totally freaking out. Ryoma noticed that Roko frowned, suddenly becoming the second Ryoma. Ryuuzaki put her hands up in defense.

"Tomaka-chan, his name is Roko, not Ryoma" she said timidly, and Ryoma practically cheered that Ryuuzaki was defending his brother. Roko seemed to be lightly smiling too. Tomaka turned back to Roko.

"Nice to meet you, Roko-sama" she said, and Ryoma couldn't help but smirk at how Roko's eyebrow disappeared into his hair.

"I'm Tomaka Osakada, President of the Echizen Ryoma Fan Club, nice to meet you" she introduced with a huge smile. Ryoma mentally groaned again as Roko turned to him and gave him a grin that reached his ears, his eye sparkling with amusement. This was bad. If he knew, then Nanjiroh would know, and if he knew…

Ryuuzaki then took a step forward, looking at the ground as she did.

"Uh… Ryuuzaki Sakuno, nice to meet you" she said with a polite bow. Roko nodded once in acknowledgement.

"Roko", Ryoma cut in, "the match is about to start, we should go get a seat". Roko nodded again and followed after him.

The freshman trio, Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro were already at the bleachers talking amongst themselves when they noticed Ryoma arriving followed by Ryuuzaki and Tomaka.

"Echizen!" Horio cried, "You're here! We were just dis-" he stopped as he noticed the other boy with them, wearing a different uniform. The three shared similar looks of confusion.

"Eh? Who are you?" Horio asked, and immediately Tomaka was between them.

"Horio! Have some manners! This is Ryoma-sama's brother, Echizen Roko!" she scolded, and suddenly the trio were all looking at Roko with stupefied expressions.

"EEEHHHH!?" Horio cried, and Ryoma groaned as he felt his ears practically screaming in pain, while Roko just winced.

"No way! You're really Ryoma-kun's brother?" Katsuo asked, and Roko just nodded.

"You look so similar" Kachiro added from the background, which Roko didn't react to and looked to Ryoma for guidance.

"Calm down" Ryoma said, "it's not that big of a deal"

"Not that big!?" Horio shouted, "It's huge! There are two tennis prodigies in Seigaku! We'll definitely win now!" Ryoma just sighed.

"Horio" Katsuo said irritably, "He's not from Seigaku - he's wearing a different uniform". Horio then seemed to take notice of the fact that Roko was indeed not wearing the Seigaku uniform.

"Eh? Why don't you go to Seigaku?" he asked. Ryoma would have cut in, telling the trio to leave him alone, but he too wanted to know the answer. Unfortunately Tomaka intervened again.

"Roko-sama doesn't need to answer to you!" she proclaimed, Roko visibly frowned at his new title, and Ryoma smiled at the thought that he finally understood his pain.

"But he can answer to you, Tomaka?" he demanded, and suddenly they were glaring at each other, gritting their teeth in anger.

"Quiet down" Ryoma muttered, "you're being too noisy". He walked toward the seats and sat down, Roko sitting down next to him without glancing at him. Several people were filling up the bleachers now, and Ryoma could see the black and purple jerseys of Fudomine on the other side of the courts. He recognized a girl with them.

"Roko" Ryoma said, remembering something. Roko turned to him with an inquisitive expression.

"Why were you with that girl at our first game?" he asked, pointing across the courts to the girl. Roko followed his gaze and frowned at the sight of the girl, and made signs with his hands.

"_I wasn't with her, she just stood next to me"_ his hands said, and Ryoma frowned as his thoughts of Roko having a girlfriend shattered like glass.

"Eh? What were those signs?" came a voice, and Ryoma noticed that Horio had stopped arguing with Tomaka and had watched the two of them, with the rest of them behind him.

"Sign language. Roko is mute" Ryoma stated bluntly. Roko seemed unfazed by that, and just gazed passively at Horio. For once the annoying ginger didn't say anything, along with the rest of the trio and the two cheerleaders, and they just looked shocked for a moment before Horio spoke.

"Eh? Is that like a disease or something?" he asked curiously. Ryoma's gaze snapped to Horio in an instant, his eyes blazing with murder, and Horio shrank back, everyone else gaping at him in shock, while Roko just continued his passive gaze like nothing had happened.

"_Horio!"_ Katsuo cried, "That was awful!" Horio turned to him.

"What? Isn't it a disease? I thought it-"

"_No!"_ Katsuo exclaimed, and everyone blinked at how infuriated Katsuo suddenly was.

Roko suddenly stood up, and everyone stopped and looked at him curiously. Roko turned to Ryoma and made signs, before walking off.

"_I'm going to get a drink"_

Ryoma glared at Horio, and he shuddered and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Che, thanks a lot Horio" he spat, before getting up and walking after his brother.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Sakuno just watched with a twisting feeling of guilt in her gut as Echizen Roko walked away, with Ryoma jogging after him. She couldn't help but feel awful over the fact that Ryoma's brother was mute. It must be awful, dealing with a brother who can't speak, and Sakuno felt nothing but sympathy for them. She didn't wonder why Ryoma had never mentioned him before, or why Roko didn't go to Seigaku, because it was none of her business, and it would be rude to ask.

Beneath that guilt she had a burning anger at Horio's comment. Did he even realise was being mute was? Was he so insensitive to imply that he had a fatal disease? Sakuno involuntarily clenched her fists as she continued to watch the two brothers walk away.

"I cannot believe you did that!" Katsuo was yelling at Horio in fury, and Sakuno could relate to him.

"That was horrible, Horio!" Kachiro joined in.

Tomaka was still standing there with varying degrees of shock and anger on her face, and Sakuno was suddenly worried, and reached out to her.

"T-Tomaka-chan…" she muttered worriedly, and Tomaka seemed to snap out of it. Her face suddenly melted into pure anger, and she stormed up to Horio, shoving the other two freshmen to the ground in her wake.

"Tomaka-chan!" Sakuno cried, instantly moving to help the two up.

Tomaka grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the mesh fence, Horio yelping and sweating at Tomaka's death glare.

"You" she spat, "don't you dare insult Roko-sama ever again!" and with that she let go of Horio, who fell to the ground like jelly and she stormed away. Sakuno quickly helped the two up and ran after her best friend.

"Tomaka-chan! Where are you going?" she asked when she caught up.

"To apologize to Roko-sama for that idiot's behaviour" she said bluntly, with anger still in her voice. The anger silenced Sakuno from making any further comments, and so she just walked alongside her timidly.

They found the two of them standing by the vending machine nearby, Roko making signs to Ryoma and Ryoma smiling in response.

"Roko-sama" Tomaka called when she was a few steps away. Both of them noticed the two girls standing and turned to them with inquisitive expressions.

"I just wanted to apologize to you about Horio's behaviour. That was completely rude and awful" Tomaka stated with burning eyes. Roko nodded once and made signs with his hands, and the two girls shared confused looks before Ryoma intervened.

"He says 'I'm used to it'". Sakuno felt that writhing feeling in her gut again as she turned to Roko with sympathy written on her face. He's used to it? Did that mean other people thought the same? That must be terrible for him. Sakuno suddenly wanted to comfort him and tell him that everything people said was wrong and he didn't have some awful disease, but she knew that would be rude to hug him outright, not to mention embarrassing.

Tomaka took a step forward.

"Don't listen to them, Roko-sama!" she began, "People just find you different because you can't talk, but that doesn't make you a freak. That just makes you quiet; you can still be the best at anything you choose. Being mute doesn't make you any less than them!" she proclaimed, and Sakuno felt her heart lift at her speech.

_Tomaka-chan_, she thought, as she looked at her best friend who had a passionate grin on her face, and Sakuno couldn't help but smile warmly as she said everything she wanted to say herself.

Sakuno noticed how Roko's expression softened and he smiled warmly too, and Ryoma just looked at Tomaka with an approving smile.

"Thank you, Tomaka" Ryoma said softly, and Tomaka smiled radiantly.

"Anything for the Echizen Twins!" she cried, her happiness suddenly renewed. Sakuno felt her smile widen.

"_The game between Seishun Gakuen and Fudomine Chugakko will now begin. Please can all players proceed to Court C" _came the intercom, and the Echizen Twins shared a smirk.

"Let's go, Roko" Ryoma said, leading his brother back to the courts. Sakuno and Tomaka smiled and followed after them.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Seigaku were crazy. Crazier than Rikkaidai, which was saying a lot.

First of all, to Roko's infinite amusement, Ryoma apparently had a fan club, which was led by a hyper active brunette girl who addressed him as 'Ryoma-sama'. Roko wasn't exactly pleased when she suddenly turned around and addressed him as 'Roko-sama', but at least it was a nice change from 'mute boy'.

Secondly, these regulars were strange, and not just because they had a girl on their team, but because they had the spitting images of every Rikkaidai regular in their team. The red-head was Akaya, the tall spiky-haired guy was Marui, the guy with glasses was Yanagi, the captain was Sanada, the girl was Yukimura, the guy with bangs was Jackal, the snake guy was Niou and the tall ginger was Yagyuu.

And finally, they apparently had a group of freshmen who followed them around and cheered for them.

Yep, Seigaku were definitely crazier than Rikkaidai. Roko couldn't help but pity Ryoma.

But at least they had nice people, like the leader of Ryoma's fan club who gave him that pep talk. It had cheered him up from his depression, but his depression was mostly due to the fact that he had been accused of having a disease twice in the last half an hour.

He had felt better when he returned to the courts with Ryoma, and thankfully the ginger – identified as Horio – did not say a word to him. The first game was the girl and the tall ginger against a brown-haired guy with bangs and a guy with a bandana like the snake guy of Seigaku.

"The game between Seishun Gakuen's Fuji Syuusuke and Kawamura Takashi, versus Fudomine Chugakko's Ishida Tetsu and Masaya Sakurai will now begin! Please shake hands!" The two teams shook hands, and Roko turned to Ryoma and made signs.

"_Is the girl a doubles player?"_ his hands asked, and Ryoma looked suddenly very confused.

"What girl?" he asked, and the other regulars seemed to notice.

"Eh? Ochibi, what girl are you talking about? Nya~" Kikumaru asked. Roko made more signs.

"_The girl with the brown hair"_. Ryoma arched an eyebrow as he looked to the courts, and then it clicked in his brain, and he frowned.

"Fuji-senpai is not a girl" he said flatly, much to Roko's shock. There was a long silence, and suddenly Kikumaru and the spiky-haired guy both burst into laughter.

"You- you thought-" the spiky-haired guy tried to say between laughs, "that Fuji-senpai was- was a _girl?" _The two continued laughing in hysterics, drawing the attention of everyone on the court, and Roko just rolled his eyes and looked back at the court.

_I suppose Yukimura looks like a girl too_, he reasoned. The game started, and the two teams got into positions.

_Whatever_, he thought.


	23. Need-to-Know

**Good news, my art project is complete to the most average standard possible, so now I have more time to write chapters! Woo! And sorry about the fact this is still lots of talk and no plot.**

**Enjoy.**

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Momoshiro couldn't understand. How come he'd never heard of Echizen's brother before?

He'd picked Echizen up from his house on his bike every day, and he had not once seen another Echizen. He noticed that his uniform was different, so he didn't go to Seigaku, so he'd decided that the other Echizen lived somewhere else. But then he heard Echizen ask the other Echizen if he was going home after the match, so the other Echizen definitely lived with their Echizen.

So if their Echizen lived with the other Echizen, and the other Echizen went to a different school, then the other Echizen must leave at a different time to their Echizen. That meant that the other Echizen went to a school further away, and suddenly he was curious why the other Echizen didn't follow their Echizen to Seigaku.

So why didn't he? And how come their Echizen never mentioned him?

"Oy, Echizen" he called, grabbing the attention of the two.

"What is it, Momo-senpai?" Their Echizen asked, and he realised his mistake of using 'Echizen' rather than their first names.

"Not you, the other Echizen" Momoshiro clarified. Their Echizen frowned and looked toward the other Echizen.

"How come you don't go to Seigaku?" he asked, and the other Echizen frowned in response, and made weird signs with his hands, and Momoshiro frowned before glancing at their Echizen.

"He says 'Because I found a school with a better education system'" Their Echizen replied. Momoshiro narrowed his eyes.

He sacrificed time with their Echizen for a 'better education system'? That can't be right, there must be another reason.

"Heh? You went to a different school for a 'better education system'?" he pressed, and their Echizen frowned.

"Yes, Momo-senpai, that's what people tend to do" he said irritably, before turning away, ceasing any reply from Momoshiro.

There was a pause, as Momoshiro sighed loudly and looked back up to the game of Fuji and Kawamura playing Fudomine. They were being hard pressed, especially Fuji, and he was worried how it would turn out.

"By the way" Their Echizen began, and Momoshiro looked back at him, but their Echizen was looking at the other Echizen.

"How did your tennis match go? I never asked". Momoshiro blinked, the other Echizen played tennis too? Before the other Echizen could lift his hands Kikumaru materialized in mid-air in front of them.

"Nya? Ochibi's brother plays tennis too?" he asked, looking between the two Echizens, and their Echizen just nodded.

"We play against each other a lot, and we're both at the same level" he replied coolly, and Momoshiro looked at the other Echizen sharply. He was at the same level as their Echizen? He must be really good.

"Nya!" Kikumaru cried, "Can you play a match with me, Echizen?" he asked giddily, practically bouncing as he made large eyes at the other Echizen.

"Kikumaru-senpai" Their Echizen interrupted, "How come you use his last name but not mine?" he demanded, and Kikumaru just blinked.

"Because you're Ochibi, of course. Nya~" he replied, and their Echizen just sighed loudly. Momoshiro couldn't help but smile.

"So will you?" Kikumaru pressed, turning back to the other Echizen. The other Echizen looked at him for a while before shaking his head.

"Nya!" Kikumaru wailed, "Why not?". The other Echizen made signs again, and Kikumaru looked to their Echizen for translation.

"Ochibi! What'd he say?" he asked, but their Echizen just smiled teasingly.

"Mada mada dane, Kikumaru-senpai" he claimed.

"Ochibi!"

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens**

Roko had managed to slip away whilst Ryoma and the red-head engaged in an argument about something, but whatever it was he wasn't really interested. He just needed some time away from Seigaku, they were far too loud, especially the red-head and spiky-haired guy.

He'd managed to find the vending machine and purchased another bottle of iced tea with the loose change he had, and the bottle fell down with a metallic clunk.

"I thought I'd find you here"

Roko half turned to the sound of the voice, somehow not surprised that the girl – Tachibana Ann was her name – was standing there with a hesitant look on her face.

"I saw you making signs earlier. Are you deaf or something?" she pressed, and Roko was quite surprised at the lack of formalities. But it was also clear this girl hadn't thought this through. One, because if Roko _was_ deaf, he wouldn't be able to hear her question anyway. Two, if she knew that Roko was making signs, then she probably assumed that he would use signs to answer her, signs which she wouldn't understand. But he was mostly amused by how blunt she was. Roko shook his head as a response, and Tachibana frowned.

"You're not deaf?" she asked hesitantly, and Roko decided to put her out of her misery, and he made a single sign.

"_Mute"_

But to his surprise, Tachibana's eyes glowed with shock, and she suddenly looked very guilty.

"Oh I'm so sorry" she apologized quickly, "I had no idea you were mute". Roko paused.

"_You can understand me?"_ his hands asked, and Tachibana smiled before making her own signs.

"_Yes I can, it's nice to meet you"_ her hands replied. Roko was stunned; he'd never known anyone outside of his family and Sanada who knew sign language.

"_How did you know I would be here?" _his hands asked.

"_You were here the last time we met"_ her hands explained, and Roko realised that in fact this was the exact same spot he'd met Tachibana Ann. It felt almost like dejá vu, except now they were having a proper conversation instead of one-sided questions.

"_Are you supporting your brother?"_ her hands asked, and Roko frowned before making signs back.

"_Not really, I'm just here to watch his game"_ he replied. Tachibana seemed to smile wider.

"_Want to sit with us for the game?"_ her hands asked. Roko blinked as he remembered that Tachibana was the sister of Fudomine's captain, so by 'us' she meant the Fudomine regulars. Tempting, after all, they must be quieter than Seigaku, and Roko quite liked the captain, he was polite and didn't intrude on his privacy unlike Kamio and Shinji.

"_OK"_ he replied simply, and Tachibana smiled softly, and lead Roko back to the bleachers on the other side of the court.

Roko scanned the court, which was empty, and he realised that the boy-girl and the ginger were both back on the bleachers, the scoreboard reading a forfeit. Roko mentally scowled as he realised that Ryoma's opponents were a challenge, unlike the useless teams he played in Kanagawa. It was so unfair, why were Tokyo's teams so much better?

The Fudomine regulars were all sat conversing among themselves before the start of the next match, and they all looked up when they noticed the two of them approaching. It wasn't until they were about to sit down did Kamio intervene.

"Oy, you, what are you doing here?" he demanded, and Roko mentally sighed.

"Kamio!" Tachibana snapped, "Leave him alone". Kamio looked confused, as did the rest of the team, while Roko smiled amusedly at how she was defending him.

"But Ann-chan" he protested, "He refused to speak to you"

"He's mute, Kamio" Tachibana stated irritably, and Kamio spluttered with wide eyes, sharing looks of shock with the rest of the team. Roko scowled and made signs to Tachibana.

"_You didn't have to tell them"_ he stated, and Tachibana rolled her eyes before responding.

"_He wouldn't leave you alone if I didn't"_ her hands replied, and Roko had to agree with that. He then noticed Shinji looking at him curiously rather than shocked or pitiful.

"Why did you bring him here, Tachibana-chan?" Shinji asked.

"Because he looked annoyed with the loud Seigaku regulars" she responded.

"Won't his brother be looking for him?" Shinji asked. Roko intervened and made signs.

"_I won't miss him"_ he said with a smirk. Tachibana chuckled in response, and sat down on the bleachers, Roko following suit, with the rest of the team looking at them confusedly, except the captain who had a stoic mask in place like Sanada. The team consisted of the captain, Tachibana Kippei, Kamio the red-head, Shinji the rude guy, Ishida the bandana guy with lots of muscle on him, a black haired guy, a guy with a cap, and Masaya the brown haired guy with bangs. So he knew most of the team, which was a start.

He then noticed that on the other side of the courts Ryoma was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, and Roko made signs.

"_It's quieter over here, you should join me"_ his hands said, and Roko could detect a smirk from his brother.

"_I can't sadly, maybe next time"_ was his reply from across the court, and Roko smirked.

"Eh? Who're you talking to?" he heard Kamio ask. Roko turned to him and made signs, and Kamio frowned.

"He says 'I'm talking to my brother at the other side of the court'" The captain translated. The rest of the team looked at Tachibana Kippei surprised, who was half turned to Roko.

"Buchou, you know sign language too?" Ishida asked, sat next to his captain. Tachibana nodded once, the other Tachibana cutting in.

"We were both taught sign language at a young age" she added with a smile. Roko nodded and smiled; it seemed this team had more than one person to talk to, that was something at least.

"Do you play tennis, Echizen?" Shinji asked from out of nowhere, and Roko nodded in response. Suddenly the entire team leaned forward except the captain, promptly invading Roko's personal space.

"Are you as good as Echizen Ryoma?" Shinji continued, and Roko made signs.

"I play with him a lot, so we're on the same level" Ann translated, and the team leaned forward even further, and Roko tried to appear unfazed as he felt six pairs of eyes staring into his soul.

"Leave him alone" Tachibana said flatly, and everyone immediately moved back to their seats, much to Roko's amusement.

"Ne, Echizen" Ann said, and Roko turned to her.

"Do you want to get some food after this? We were going to go to a noodle bar not far from here" she offered, and Roko was surprised, no one had ever invited him somewhere aside from Ryoma. He quickly glanced at the rest of the team, and he could tell that none of them had a problem with it, aside from Kamio who was scowling, but he assumed that was because he hadn't let go of him not speaking to Ann earlier. He was used to stubborn people, so Roko promptly ignored it and nodded his head.

Ann's eyes lit up and she smiled widely.

"Great!" she cheered, and Roko smiled softly, again ignoring Kamio's scowl.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Fuji was disappointed, he'd hoped after his match he could ask Echizen Roko all sorts of questions and get to know him better, and maybe know a few secrets about their Echizen along the way. But those plans dissolved like sugar in a teacup when he saw the second Echizen sat on the other side of the court with the _Fudomine regulars_.

It seemed that the second Echizen really was with that girl during that first game, and at least Fuji had gotten some blackmail material out of that. But that didn't make him feel any more satisfied with himself, since he so desperately wanted to know about Echizen Roko. He saw him exchanging signs with the girl, and he scowled as he realised he had no idea what they were saying.

Fuji hated not knowing things more than anything. He had acknowledged that he was nosy, and it was probably a bad habit, but right now he couldn't care less if it was a bad habit. He somehow _needed_ to know what they were saying.

"Echizen" he called, getting their kouhai's attention.

"Huh?" he mumbled, and Fuji glanced at the Fudomine regulars.

"Why is your brother with Fudomine?" Fuji asked, and Echizen raised an eyebrow before turning to look at the bleachers at the other end of the court, eyes widening as he realised that his brother was in fact with the Fudomine regulars.

"Eh? Why is he with them?" Momoshiro asked in the background.

"Fssshhh" Kaidoh hissed, "Probably to get away from you, idiot". Momoshiro's gaze snapped to him in an instant.

"What was that, mamushi!?" he demanded. Kaidoh gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Enough" Tezuka said simply without turning to them, and with that the two stopped and returned to their seats.

Fuji noticed that their Echizen was making signs at no one, and he turned to his direction and noticed he was actually making signs to his brother from across the court. He smiled as he realised the convenience of learning sign language, and distantly wondered if he should start taking lessons.

"What did he say, Echizen?" he asked softly when he noticed Echizen's smirk.

"Mada mada dane, senpai" he replied coolly, and Fuji pushed down the scowl that was trying to make its way into his mask.

This would be harder than he thought.

"Inui" he said as an afterthought, and Inui, who was sat behind him, looked up from his notebook.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Can you do me a favour and gather as much data on Echizen Roko as possible?" Fuji asked. Inui smirked.

"Already on it, it'll take a while, but I'm confident I'll find some good data"

Fuji turned back to the courts as the second game was announced with a smile. He was looking forward to Inui's results.

**Tomorrow there will be vague plot/story, so look forward to that**


	24. Flashbacks and Tennis Reporters

******This chapter was created at the suggestion of DragonStorm.**

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Roko decided that he liked Fudomine. Sure, Kamio wasn't exactly the friendliest type but the rest of the team were good company, and having two interpreters helped, even if the captain was too focused on the games to translate.

So far it had been two wins and two losses against Seigaku, and Roko once again mentally sighed in frustration at how much better the tennis team of Tokyo were. It was just plain unfair how the teams in Kanagawa were awful, while these guys were giving Seigaku a challenge, and that was impressive, considering Seigaku were in the top four in the Nationals last year.

The final match was Ryoma versus Shinji in Singles 3, and Roko felt a small smile creep onto his face as his brother stepped onto the court. Ryoma glanced up at him in that moment, and they both exchanged a soft smile, before Roko made signs.

"_You better win this one, or I'll be the better tennis player"_ his hands stated cockily, and as expected Ryoma smirked widely and his eyes glittered amusedly. This was definitely going to be interesting.

Shinji and Ryoma shook hands at the net, and Shinji started muttering something to Ryoma that made him twitch slightly, and Roko could tell from the bleachers that he was irritated. He himself didn't find Shinji's mumbling overly annoying, despite how the others complained of it. In fact it was a nice way to fill the silence that was common in Roko's conversations.

Ryoma served, and the game began.

Roko only half watched, with his earphones in his ears he was drifting off into his own world. He didn't need to bother watching the game, since he already knew who would win. Ryoma just had that much experience.

But from what Roko heard about Fudomine's history from Ann, Shinji had determination to match it. According to her, it was in their first year as freshmen for the tennis club. They would pick up the balls and be mocked and scorned by talentless regulars, and they soon started to rebel against them. That was around the time Tachibana showed up, a second year who believed that the way they were being treated was wrong. So they built their own tennis court and began to play there, until the tennis coach and the talentless regulars arrived and destroyed the courts. Tachibana attacked the coach, and so Fudomine were forced to drop out of the tournament, and next year they all defeated the regulars and replaced them. The coach resigned soon after.

Roko knew exactly what it was like to have a determination building up in you to prove that you aren't weak. He had had that feeling in his gut for most of his life, and he instantly sympathized with Shinji, who he knew would not allow Ryoma to win. No, maybe he wasn't so sure of the outcome after all.

"Excuse me" came a voice, and Roko and Fudomine turned to see a tall man wearing a shirt and tie with black trousers – rather similar to the Rikkaidai uniform – he had short brown hair and a camera around his neck.

"Can I help you?" Tachibana asked from the front row. The man turned to him and gave a nod.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Echizen Roko". Everyone frowned at his response, and Roko wondered what the man wanted with him. Did he know him?

"Who are you?" Kamio asked bluntly, and the man turned and smiled politely.

"My name is Inoue Mamoru; I'm a journalist for Monthly Pro Tennis Magazine". Roko mentally groaned loudly, and Fudomine collectively raised an eyebrow.

Roko really wished he could speak so he could verbalize his annoyance. He knew what this was about. This man was obviously interested in 'Echizen Nanjiroh's son', and more so because Roko never played in any of the big tournaments like Ryoma. He'd never liked playing tennis for big trophies and money; he played it because it was a fun sport.

The man – Inoue – then turned to Roko and his eyes glittered with anticipation, probably excited to get an interview or something. Roko gave a hollow look at him to try to send the message, but Inoue just laughed.

"You are just like Echizen Ryoma. You must be his brother. Can I get an interview?" he asked, and Roko felt his forehead twitch in annoyance. He shook his head in response, and Inoue frowned.

"But why? I've never heard of you before, and I had no idea Echizen Nanjiroh had two sons. This would be an amazing story" he explained, and Roko's forehead twitched again.

"Eh?" Kamio asked from the background, "Why would you want to interview Echizen?" Inoue turned to him with an incredulous expression, and if Roko could speak he would have ordered him to stop.

"You don't know who he is?" he asked, unbelieving, and the entire team turned to Roko and frowned.

"He's Echizen" Kamio said slowly, as if there was some hidden meaning in his name. Inoue shook his head.

"His father is Echizen Nanjiroh, the legendary tennis player who took the world by storm, nicknamed 'The Samurai'. I'd heard of his brother, Ryoma, who won three junior Grand Slams in America, but never of Echizen Roko. Which is why I want to interview him" he explained.

Roko wanted to strangle this journalist, because suddenly every one of the Fudomine regulars, including Tachibana, was staring at him like he was the legend himself. He hated how people did that when they heard about his dad. He may have been a legendary tennis player, but in Roko's eyes he was a perverted monk whose porn magazines were more important than his life, and there was nothing interesting about that. But the stares of Fudomine sadly disagreed.

Inoue took this as an opportunity to lean forward.

"So? Will you answer some questions?" he asked eagerly. Roko turned to Ann, who seemed to have stopped gaping at him like a fish, and he made signs to her.

Inoue frowned at that.

"Sign language? Are you deaf?" he asked hesitantly.

"He's mute" Ann replied instantly, in an irritated tone, "and he says he's not interested in answering your questions"

Inoue gaped at Roko, staring at him unbelieving. Roko felt anger building up in his gut. Why was he gaping at him? Why was he so shocked and amazed by the fact he was mute? Roko wanted to wipe that look off his face and make sure he never bothered him again, but in front of Fudomine and on the bleachers of a tennis court, with a game going on, that would probably attract too much attention.

"Are you sure?" Inoue asked hesitantly after a while. Roko glared at him, and Inoue flinched under the stare before politely excusing himself and walking away. When he was gone, most of the team looked to Roko.

"You're the son of a tennis pro?" Ishida asked from the row in front of him. Roko didn't reply, didn't look at any of them, and instead looked straight ahead at the courts where Shinji and Ryoma were playing, effectively ending all conversation. That was good. He really wanted to strangle someone right now.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

Ryoma didn't understand what was happening. He was playing fine at first, taking several games and keeping his resolve to win in place, but suddenly it felt like he couldn't move.

The Fudomine player would send a ball at him, he would return it, the Fudomine player would return it again, and suddenly Ryoma couldn't move his arm and the ball sailed past him.

What was going on? How was this happening?

_Calm down_, he told himself. Ryoma took a deep breath before returning to position. He'd noticed that the shot this guy was using wasn't anything special; there wasn't any spin or twist of the wrist when he hit it. In fact the shot was exactly the same as the ball before it. So this guy hit the exact same shot twice in a row, and suddenly Ryoma couldn't move.

So he guessed the only way to return it was to hit it differently the first time he hit it.

The Fudomine guy served, and Ryoma returned it easily, the guy sending the shot down the middle of the court.

_It's that shot!_

Ryoma angled his arm differently, hitting the ball lower than he usually would, so it sailed over the net slowly. The guy then returned it back to Ryoma, and this time he could feel his arm. Ryoma swung his racket, returning the ball, but the racket slipped from his grip.

He watched as he accidentally flung it towards the net pole, the racket breaking in two and the handle flying right back at him.

**Tokyo Tennis Gardens Courts**

He held his head in his left hand, blood dripping through his fingers and pooling on the court.

His breath came out in short gasps of pain, and there were shouts in the background.

His left eye was probably damaged, if not permanently.

Roko felt himself grow very cold as he tried to force back the memories that invaded his thoughts.

…

"_Oyaji! Let's go already!" _

"_Fine, fine, Ryoma. Let's go then"_

"_Yay! I'm so excited! Are you excited, Roko?"_

"_Of course! Dad'll finally take us to the tennis courts!"_

"_Calm down you two, you're being too excited"_

"_Mom! We are not being too excited!"_

"_Whatever you say, Ryoma"_

"_Hmph!"_

…

"_Oyaji! Are we nearly there yet?"_

"_Yes, Ryoma, just a few more minutes"_

"_Ugghh! I can't wait that long!"_

"_Calm down Ryoma, you should learn to enjoy the ride"_

"_But I don't care about the ride! I wanna play tennis so badly!"_

"_And what about you, Roko?"_

"_I'm OK with waiting"_

…

…

…

_**CRASH!**_

…

_What happened?_

_The car crashed_

_Are they alright?_

_Yes, they are. But you're not._

_My eye… it hurts._

_Yes it does, don't cry. The pain will go away soon._

_It hurts…_

_Someone's calling for you_

_I can't take it. It hurts too much…_

_Don't cry. Don't touch your eye, there's something stuck in it._

_What happened?_

_You protected Ryoma from the car, remember?_

… _I did. I jumped on him to save him from the crash._

_And he's alive and well._

…

_Who's that?_

_He's an ambulance man. He'll make you feel better._

_Where's Ryoma? Where are mom and dad?_

_They're all fine. Don't worry. Please don't cry._

_I can't. It hurts too much._

_Don't cry. They'll make you feel better._

_It hurts._

…

…

…

"_Roko, why won't you talk to me?"_

…

Roko didn't even realise that he was crying until he noticed that Ann was staring at him.

"Echizen? Are you alright?" she asked worriedly, and Roko immediately stood up. He needed a drink.

**Downtown Tokyo**

"Kamio! Stop eating so fast! You'll give yourself indigestion" Ann scolded. Kamio flinched and gave an apologetic look, whilst the rest of the team snickered, Roko just smiled softly. They were at Fudomine's favourite noodle bar, which they went to after every game as a celebration, even though they lost.

Ann was disappointed that they lost, but the team didn't seem affected for long, everyone's spirits suddenly lifting when they entered the restaurant. Echizen followed them with his passive expression and didn't make any signs the whole time, and Ann thought it was best to leave him alone.

Contrasting greatly from the laughing, smiling team, Echizen was eating his noodles slowly and with a thoughtful expression. Ann had been suddenly so confused and worried when she noticed that Echizen was crying. She knew he would be worried about his brother, but to the extent of crying? And he didn't even go and see his brother either; he went to buy a drink instead. Ann felt a stirring feeling in her gut of worry and confusion and sadness, and she really wanted to comfort Echizen right now.

"By the way, Echizen" came her brother's voice, and Ann and Echizen looked to Tachibana, while the rest of the group had their own animated conversations in the background.

"Are you sure you want to be here and not with your brother?" he asked carefully, and Ann looked back to Echizen. It was true, she'd expected him to drop their plans for going to the noodle bar and go after his brother, but after the game Echizen had lost his previous horrified expression and just smiled and followed them. Ann figured that since his brother was well enough to defeat Shinji even after his injury, there was nothing to worry about.

"_I like this team, it's quieter than my brother's team, and he will be fine by tomorrow. He's stubborn like that"_ Echizen's hands stated, and Ann felt something lift off her heart as she confirmed that Echizen was no longer miserable. Her brother smiled.

"In that case, trying having some conversation" he said softly, and Echizen raised an eyebrow.

"With us" he hastily corrected, since he couldn't technically have a conversation with the rest of the team. Echizen nodded and made more signs with his hands, and Ann smiled softly. It was nice to know he wasn't worried anymore.


	25. Tarundarou

**For those expecting a new c****hapter, sadly this isn't it :P I changed chapter 24 for a bit more storyline, a major plot point and at the suggestion of a reviewer**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Sanada sighed loudly in frustration as he watched his team run and laps and laps around the courts, with the non-regulars playing practice matches and the freshmen refereeing and picking up the balls. He was irritated for many reasons today.

One, the forecast had predicted sunshine today, and yet it was a rainstorm outside, so they were forced to play in the indoor courts, and Sanada never liked the indoor courts. They just felt too cramped to play a proper game of tennis in.

Two, Yanagi had received a call from Inui Sadaharu of Seigaku, asking for data on Echizen. Yanagi had complied, feeding basic information like height, blood type and favourite colour, but nothing more. But Sanada didn't really care about the fact Yanagi had fed their rivals data about their freshman prodigy, he was more concerned that Seigaku was interested in him. He supposed they would be, considering Echizen's twin brother was a regular at Seigaku. Sanada had been appropriately shocked, as were the rest of the team when that piece of information was revealed, and suddenly Echizen was bombarded with questions from Marui and Kirihara.

Third, and most importantly, Echizen's display against Yakuta Ippei yesterday. Sanada could not describe how infuriated he was when Echizen more than doubled the limit they had set for the Lightning Bolt, and then when it was over Echizen just walked off like nothing happened! He knew the entire team was worried for him, especially when Echizen left to who-knows-where, and he could not allow that. A worried team is distracted, and a distracted team cannot play 100%

So when the regulars finished their laps, Sanada called him over.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked bluntly, and he swore he could see the mental sigh in Echizen's eyes.

"_I let his comments get to me, it won't happen again"_ his hands stated, Sanada frowned in response.

"That's not good enough. You could have seriously injured your arm" he said firmly. Echizen didn't lift his hands to respond, and instead just gazed at Sanada hollowly with his head cocked at a curious angle.

"Your arm still hurts, doesn't it?" he pressed, Echizen pursed his lips in hesitation and nodded. Sanada frowned at him for a moment, knowing that Echizen didn't particularly care.

"No practice for you today" he said bluntly, "Your arm must rest. But tomorrow you'll be doing double the training". Echizen looked at him for a moment before nodding again and walking away without any signs. Sanada noticed Yanagi looking at him with a raised eyebrow, but Sanada glared at him, and he got the message and walked away.

It wasn't until the end of practice that Sanada realised that not only did he not punish Echizen for disobeying him; he made him skip practice to rest.

_You're getting too soft_, he told himself.

**Class 3A – English**

Sanada wasn't being very talkative today. That was fine, considering Roko expected extreme punishment rather than being ordered to skip practice. He knew that ever since he had started tutoring him in English their relationship had grew into a good-acquaintance kind of relationship, but he doubted they would become real friends; Sanada was far too stoic for such things.

Roko honestly didn't mind sitting next to Sanada anymore, since he rather enjoyed being with him and teaching him the vocabulary and grammar rules needed to pass this class, whilst he didn't need to bother glancing at it. It made him smile when he realised that they sat next to each other because Yukimura had put them together, and he reminded himself to thank him later.

Today the teacher had decided to give the class another group project, pairing him and Sanada up since the teacher was very impressed with their previous group project, which was the best in the class. He could sense Sanada internally groaning, and Roko kind of understood that he was frustrated at him for his display in their last match, so he didn't hold it against him. But it clearly wasn't going to last since Roko noticed that very familiar scowl on Sanada's face as he read the worksheet they were given. The project was to design and create a poster on Rikkaidai Fuzoku's clubs and activities – since activities and clubs was their current topic in English – all of it in English. The teacher stated that only one club should be used on the poster, and the club should be described in detail. Sanada and Roko didn't bother exchanging signs or words, since they both knew which club they would create this poster for.

Roko internally smirked as he noticed Sanada scowling at the worksheet still. It was clear he didn't like the current topic – since they mostly went over grammar structures in their tuition together – and Roko made a mental note to go over the vocabulary with him. Though this was a recurring thing in English, where Sanada would scowl at a worksheet and Roko had to intervene. Sanada just gave a huff and pulled his chair closer to Roko's without a word spoken, and Roko allowed a small smile on his face. Sanada noticed that and scowled deeper.

"I would know these things if you taught me them" he said bluntly. Roko rolled his eyes and made signs.

"_It's not my fault I have to repeat the grammar structures to you every time I see you"_ his hands retorted, and Sanada frowned but said nothing. He looked over Roko's shoulder as he always did, as the teacher handed them an A3 piece of paper to work on.

It was strange how many things you could tell about a person when they're so close to you, as Roko discovered. For starters, his breath wasn't as warm on Roko's neck as it usually was, which meant Sanada wasn't as angry today, and a non-angry Sanada was a distracted Sanada, and when he was distracted it was impossible to work with him.

Secondly, his breathing was quite loud, coming out in frustrated puffs from his nose. That probably meant that he was annoyed – likely annoyed at having to work with Roko after his performance yesterday.

And finally, the fact that he wasn't even looking at the paper, but Roko himself. He mentally sighed and turned to look at him.

"_You're still angry with me"_ his hands stated, and he could see Sanada frown. He was quite surprised by that frown, since Sanada would normally scowl and go into his 'I'm-angry-leave-me-alone' kind of mood.

"I'm not angry with you" he said, Roko raised an inquiring eyebrow, and Sanada sighed in response.

"I'm angry at myself for being angry at you" he said hesitantly.

… _Is he apologizing to me?_ Roko thought in wonder.

"I thought about what your motives were for being so reckless, and I realised if someone had said those things to me I would have killed them" he continued, and Roko tried not to stare at him incredulously. This was Sanada, right? Sanada Genichiro? He was tempted to ask 'who are you and what have you done with Sanada?', but he was pretty sure that would kill the mood.

"So…" he trailed off, and Roko just waited patiently.

"Answering your question, no, I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at myself" he finished, and Roko smiled softly at his indirect apology.

_It seems you do have a soft side,_ Roko thought to himself. It was nice that Sanada actually cared about him in his own indirect way, but they were in English class, and right now English was a priority, since Roko didn't feel like getting anything less than perfection in a subject he was fluent in.

"_In that case you shouldn't have any problem with this group project"_ his hands stated, and Sanada rolled his eyes before Roko turned back to the piece of paper, Sanada's head hovering above his shoulder.

_He's like a parrot on my shoulder_, he thought amusedly.

"How are we going to design this?" Sanada asked, and Roko didn't bother looking at him, making signs in front of him that Sanada read from his shoulder.

"_It's English, as long as the information is there; it doesn't need to be colourful". _Sanada grunted in a way that translated into understanding, and Roko leaned to the side so he could dig his pencil and pen out of the side pocket of his bag.

"_I'll draw the layout and you can plan out the sentences we need to write"_ his hands stated, and Sanada scowled.

"So you're saying I'm doing all the work?" he asked curtly.

"_I don't suppose you can draw?"_ Roko asked, and Sanada gave another grunt before reaching to his own bag and pulling out his vocabulary book, quickly finding the page on clubs and activities and writing neat sentences on the topic. Roko detected a few slight mistakes as he wrote out the information, but he would iron those out during tuition later today.

He started the layout by sketching the outline of a tennis racket on the centre of the paper, drawing similar ones at the top corners and a banner spanning between them. He didn't need to bother planning the sentences since he could write them out anyway, and in a way this was helping Sanada with the current topic that he despised so much. It was clear he didn't like the idea, but Roko hoped he would understand why he wasn't helping him.

**Class 3A – English**

Sanada smiled satisfied to himself as he double-checked over all the sentences he had written, making sure there were zero mistakes. He had to admit that he had been starting to enjoy English recently because he understood what was being said and it was rather easy, due to Echizen's tutoring which had helped a lot. Sanada may be stubborn, but he still acknowledged the fact that without Echizen he'd probably be failing English, and silently thanked Yukimura for putting them together.

Despite how angry he was at Echizen, he somehow found it impossible to blame it on him. He would have definitely killed anyone who insulted him like that, and he honestly wondered if Yakuta was punished lightly by Echizen. It was true, Echizen put a lot of strain on his arm, and Sanada noticed him rolling his left shoulder several times during his drawing, eliciting a frown of pity rather than anger.

Sanada knew that this relationship he was developing with his kouhai would affect the team, but at the same time he knew he couldn't abandon Echizen. He was literally the only person in Rikkaidai that knew sign language, and Sanada felt something squirm in his gut at the idea of Echizen being alone.

He knew that he was developing something akin to an older brother complex, since Sanada had recently become even more protective of his kouhai since the Yakuta incident. He didn't fail to notice the involuntary death glares he shot at people who whispered 'mute boy' as they walked past, or the fact he was suddenly concerned for his health to make him skip practice. It worried him that he was becoming like this for Echizen, maybe it was because he was mute that Sanada felt sympathy for him, or maybe because he was returning the favour for Echizen tutoring him. But whatever the reason Sanada was growing concerned.

He passed his vocabulary book to Echizen, who took it gladly and scanned it with his passive mask in place, before digging out his pen and crossing several words and writing above them. Inwardly Sanada fumed, realising that even after he had checked his sentences they were still incorrect.

"_Calm down, it's not that bad"_ Echizen's hands stated, and Sanada stopped. Was he being that obvious? He moved back to Echizen's side and looked over his shoulder, scanning the corrected sentences and frowning as he didn't recognize the corrected words.

"_We'll cover this later"_ Echizen said, and Sanada nodded. He then noticed the poster, which Echizen had finished sketching, and was rather impressed by the realistic looking tennis rackets and banner on the page.

"By the way" Sanada began, remembering something, and Echizen half turned to him.

"When are we going to finish this project? We only have the weekend to do it" he asked, and Echizen paused before making signs.

"_Your house is closer, we can finish it there at the end of the day"_ he stated, and Sanada frowned.

"How do you know my house is closer?" he asked suspiciously.

"_I take the train to get here"_ Echizen's hands said, and Sanada nodded in understanding, realising in that moment how little he knew about Echizen, he'd have to ask more about him later.

"My house it is then" Sanada said defeatedly, and Echizen smiled softly before returning to correcting Sanada's English, Sanada practically wincing at every mistake he corrected.


	26. Blue Hair

**I have been waiting for days to write this chapter. Sorry about the fact I abandoned the chapter-a-day rule, but I had an awful cold all weekend and couldn't bring myself to do anything other than sleep.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

The rain had cleared up after lunch, and Niou smiled widely, waiting in anticipation outside the new clubroom door for a certain regular to walk out. He hadn't attempted any sort of prank in a while, still traumatised by the 'wild animal' that had destroyed the principal's office – he never told Sanada about what happened despite his demands to know, the 'wild animal' would only kill him for it – but he had since decided to never aim a prank at him ever again. So the other regulars it was, then.

Niou noticed Yagyuu approaching him with a water bottle in hand, and Niou opened his mouth to greet him.

"What are you doing?" he cut in suspiciously, and Niou put on his best innocent face.

"What do you mean, Yagyuu?" he asked softly. Yagyuu sighed.

"Niou, I know you very well. You're standing there doing nothing, and you never stand around because you can't sit still for a moment, which means you're waiting for something. You're also grinning like you just won the lottery" he stated bluntly, and Niou's grin instantly evaporated.

_He knows me too well_, Niou mentally noted with a scowl.

"I don't know what you mean, Yagyuu" he said in fake confusion, but Yagyuu saw through it and frowned.

"What did you do?"

"What do you me-"

"What. Did. You. Do?" Yagyuu asked stubbornly, emphasizing every word. Niou sighed and gave in.

"Ok so you know how Marui has to leave early?" he asked, and Yagyuu raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, he has family matters and asked to leave early. He should be leaving any moment" he said. Yagyuu paused and seemed to catch on. Niou smiled widely in response.

"Well I thought it was unfair that he gets to leave us to the wrath of Sanada, and I saw this as an opportunity, so I replaced his weird strawberry shampoo with hair dye" he explained, and Yagyuu sighed loudly.

"And I suppose Marui has already entered the showers?" Yagyuu asked dryly, and Niou nodded with a huge smile.

"In that case there's nothing I can do, so I will play no part in this" he stated, and walked away like nothing happened. Niou grinned like an idiot at how complacent Yagyuu was being. He didn't even try to talk him out of it! This was wonderful.

Almost immediately afterward the new clubroom door opened, and Niou tried to contain his excitement as he heard a footstep, followed by another, and another.

And then Marui appeared, fully clothed and his hair the exact same shade of pink it was before. Niou frowned, but Marui didn't even notice him, taking off immediately, and when the coast was clear Niou went into the clubroom.

What had happened? Why didn't it work? Had he filled someone else's bottle instead? Niou paled at the sudden realisation. What if it was Sanada's bottle? Or Yanagi's? Or _Echizen's?_

Niou mentally screamed in horror at the thought, memories of the demon child destroying the headmaster's office crashing down on him, and he was immediately searching for every single bottle of shampoo the regulars owned. If it turned out he had filled Echizen's or Sanada's he was _dead. _There was no question; he would die a horrifyingly painful death.

Yanagi's bottle was clear. So was Yagyuu's, Kirihara's and Sanada's, Jackal obviously didn't own a bottle of shampoo, and after searching Echizen's bag for the third time, Niou sighed in relief at the realisation that Echizen didn't own one either. So Marui had probably been in such a rush he didn't wash his hair after practice and just left. Niou nearly broke out into dance at how relived he was, quickly forcing down his smile and leaving the clubroom.

Practice went by quickly afterward and soon all of the regulars were in the clubroom getting changed to go home. Sanada didn't bother showering since he hadn't broken a sweat as usual, but the rest of the regulars weren't so lucky. It certainly didn't help that Sanada watched them run laps rather than doing them himself, but no one would dare complain.

"Sanada, what are you still doing here?" Yanagi asked, noticing Sanada was sat fully clothed on the bench.

"I'm waiting for Echizen. We're doing an English project at my house" he replied bluntly, and the entire team raised an eyebrow, but Sanada's glare effectively ended the topic of discussion, everyone quickly turning back to what they were doing.

"I hope Echizen doesn't smell of strawberries" Sanada muttered under his breath, and Niou caught it.

"Eh? What's strawberries got to do with it?" he asked confusedly, and Sanada looked up at him.

"I hate the smell of strawberries" he explained matter-of-factly, but Niou was still confused.

"Why would Echizen smell of strawberries?" he asked nosily, and Jackal spoke up.

"Ah, that's because Echizen forgot his shampoo today, so Marui lent him his" he explained.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Not once had Roko ever considered killing someone.

Sure, he had had a lot of people over his life whispering 'mute boy' and staring at him like he was an alien, but he would never think of harming them. There were also others who scorned him and underestimated him, but Roko dispatched them quickly and made them learn to never underestimate him. Then there were others like Yakuta Ippei, sure, he was the worst kind of person there was, and he said things to Roko that made his blood boil out of control, but he never considered harming him.

But today was different.

Today was _very _different.

Because he stared in disbelief into the mirror in the clubhouse bathroom at himself, with _bright blue hair._

_**BRIGHT. BLUE. HAIR.**_

Don't get him wrong, he liked blue. Blue was a nice colour. To him it symbolized tranquillity and calm and water and general calming things. Roko owned quite a lot of blue things, and loved the colour because it was just more peaceful than other colours, because that's how he liked things - peaceful.

But screw the peace, Niou would die.

He would die in the most painful way imaginable. He would die a thousand deaths, he would regret the day he ever met him, because his hair was _blue_.

Today, blue certainly did not symbolize peace.

It symbolized death.

When he stormed out of the showers and into the clubroom with a towel around his waist, kicking the door open in unbridled fury, every head in the room snapped to him. There would be laughter, if Roko wasn't glaring a death glare worthy of praise by Sanada.

Niou stood across the room, frozen like a deer in the headlights and as pale as a ghost.

No one moved, no one breathed, not even Sanada, for a good ten seconds. Roko held up his hands and made signs, which Sanada interpreted instantly.

"I'm going to get changed" he translated, "When I am finished, I will hunt you down and kill you". Niou didn't need another moment because he bolted out the door so fast Roko didn't even see him move.

There was utter silence from everyone, and Roko was glad. He got changed without hurry, putting on his school uniform again and handing his bag to Sanada, who took it without a word.

Roko then charged out of the clubroom like a wild animal, leaving the other regulars frozen in his wake.

"Chances that Echizen was the wild animal that attacked Niou last week…" Yanagi began. Everyone turned to him incredulously.

"100%"

**Sanada Residence**

Sanada didn't say a word. He didn't really know what to say, so he just said nothing. Thankfully because Echizen was mute and Sanada was never the talkative type, they had a lot of silences like this, so it wasn't awkward at all.

He wasn't really sure what to do when Echizen had handed him his bag and pursued Niou like a wolf after its prey, so he just waited outside the clubroom, contemplating what kind of monster Yukimura had recruited to Rikkaidai. Sanada could not deny the fact that even he was shocked by Echizen's fury. He wasn't particularly frightened, because Sanada Genichiro is scared by nothing, but there was something about his glare that promised death to anyone that dared move a muscle, and Sanada quickly decided he valued his life and did not move a millimetre.

He had never seen Echizen so angry before. True, he was angry when he played against Yakuta Ippei, but it was nothing compared to the thunderhead that had appeared in his clubroom in the form of a first-year.

Echizen had returned to the clubroom seven minutes later, his face back in its passive mask, his eye displaying nothing of the atrocities he probably committed, and Sanada wordlessly handed him his bag back before walking ahead, leading their freshman prodigy to his house.

They had reached the gate of his house in complete silence, and Sanada opened it and led him in. His house was a very traditional Japanese style. His grandfather was the type of person who was extremely devout to the traditional style of Japan, and so their house resembled a dojo, entirely made of wood. It boasted large columns and wooden walkways around the house, with traditional sliding doors and Japanese tapestries. There was a large pond near the gate that his grandfather's koi fish swam in, and a traditional Japanese garden next to it.

In short, his house was something similar to what people lived in several centuries ago, if not more.

Sanada led Echizen to the house, sliding the door in front of him open.

"_Taidama!"_ he called out before depositing his shoes by the door, Echizen following suit. In an instant his mother, a tall woman with long black hair and bright green eyes and aging features appeared around the corner.

"Ah, Genichiro! I was wanting to-…" she stopped as she noticed Sanada's blue-haired companion, and she frowned.

"Genichiro, you didn't tell me you were having a friend over" she said softly, examining Echizen carefully. Sanada cleared his throat loudly in order to direct his mother's eyes away from Echizen's hair.

"Echizen is here to complete an English project with me" he explained, and his mother's eyes lit up, and her head snapped back to Echizen.

"Echizen?" she asked, "Echizen Roko?" Echizen raised an eyebrow but nodded once, Sanada mentally groaning at how his mother's eyes lit up even more in excitement.

"I have wanted to meet you for so long" she began, crossing the distance between them in an instant, now leaning down so she was at eye-level with him, much to Sanada's dismay.

"My name is Sanada Mazaki, it's nice to meet you" she introduced with a large smile. Echizen nodded once in response. Sanada's mother then straightened to her full height.

"Come on then" she said, leading them toward the living room, Sanada mentally groaning the whole time. This was going to be a long day. They walked into the simple living room, which was just wood walls with paintings hanging on them, and a half-open sliding door to serve as a window. There was a single table and cushions in the centre, and Sanada knelt down onto a cushion, placing his bag next to him, noticing that Echizen did not hesitate to do the same. Sanada's mother nodded at them.

"Good, you two get started on your project, and I'll make some tea. Your grandfather is still in the dojo, Genichiro" she said before disappearing. The two stared at the spot where she had once been before looking at each other. Echizen shrugged and took his bag, digging out a pen. Sanada drew out the poster, along with his English workbook and a pen.

"Are you staying for long?" he asked when he had placed out the objects, and Echizen raised an eyebrow.

"_I'm assuming you don't like my company"_. Sanada sighed loudly.

"That's not it. My mother will probably make you stay for dinner, so if you have any plans you need to tell her now" he stated, and Echizen shrugged, digging his phone out of his bag. He tapped the screen several times, and then made even more tapping noises with his thumbs on the screen, before setting his phone down on the table.

"_Now I'm staying for dinner"_ his hands stated, and Sanada blinked.

"You mean you _want_ to stay here?" he asked, and Echizen raised an eyebrow again.

"_It can't be any worse than my family"_ his hands said, and Sanada rolled his eyes.

"Fine then, let's get started" he said formally. Echizen nodded and they leaned over the table at their poster. Sanada opened his workbook and crinkled his nose in distaste as he noted the amount of corrected mistakes in his book.

They began, and a few minutes later Sanada's mother returned with two ceramic cups of green tea, which the two took gladly, and Sanada noticed that Echizen's lips were curved into the smallest smile as he drank the tea. The two set their cups down and began working on their poster, with Sanada writing all of the sentences down and Echizen correcting his workbook still.

"_I might as well go over the vocabulary of activities and clubs if I'm staying"_ his hands said, and Sanada blinked.

"Sure" he replied.

**I'm painting Roko to be some kind of satanic demon o.O I'm enjoying writing this too much.**


	27. Meeting the Sanadas

**Sanada Residence**

Sanada Gen'emon knelt before the altar in his family's dojo in silent meditation, incense sticks burning and filling his nostrils with the calming scent of jasmine. The room was bare, wood walls, ceiling and floor, with sheathed katanas hanging on the walls and several paintings. Gen'emon liked it that way; barebones, only what was necessary, and nothing more.

He was an old man, nearing his seventies, with a thick white beard and moustache, white eyebrows, sharp brown eyes and aging features, completely bald, wearing the black robes befitting a proper Japanese monk. He knelt in complete silence contemplating his day.

His day had been very simplistic. He had risen early to meditate, practice kendo, feed his koi and then prepare his traditional Japanese breakfast with a cup of green tea. Gen'emon did not allow his daughter Masaki to make breakfast or any meal for him, because while he was bordering on seventy, he could still move and breathe without problem, and if there was no problem he saw no reason to be treated like there was. The rest of his day and been playing shogi, reading and then practicing his calligraphy before returning to the dojo for further practice and meditation.

It was during his meditation that he heard footsteps, and Gen'emon did not need to open his eyes to know that it was Genichiro returning from school. But there was also softer footsteps mixed into the sounds of Genichiro's own, and Gen'emon realised that his grandson had a guest with him. He supposed that was a good thing, since the only people that visited were his friends Yukimura and Yanagi, but this person's footsteps belonged to neither, so he assumed his grandson had made a friend.

_He is getting too soft_, he told himself.

He finished his meditation shortly afterwards, and stood up from his cushion before the altar and turned quickly to the door towards the house. If his grandson was home that meant it was time to feed the koi, and so Gen'emon entered the house to take the food he had stored in the kitchen cupboards.

He entered the living room, unsurprised to see his grandson knelt on a cushion before the dining table with a poster of some sort in front of him, probably completing homework. What he was surprised at however, was the deep sky blue hair of a small child, probably several years younger than Genichiro, knelt on a cushion next to him, writing in a notebook in what appeared to be English. Gen'emon had never seen this boy before and quickly came to the conclusion that he was here for reasons other than a friendly visit, because he had taught his grandson to never associate with people who had such a ridiculous hair colour.

Genichiro looked up and noticed him watching the two, and nodded his head politely.

"Grandfather" he greeted formally, and the other boy looked up, and Gen'emon noticed with distaste at how his hair was styled across his left eye, making him look even more ridiculous.

"I see you have brought a friend" he noted, and his grandson nodded once in response.

"Echizen is here to complete our group English project" he stated formally, with no unnecessary introductions or topics, just like Gen'emon had taught him. He turned to the blue-haired boy, faintly remembering the name 'Echizen'.

"Ah, Echizen. You are the mute child and Genichiro's English tutor, correct?" he asked, and despite his old eyes, he could detect the slightest irritation in his expression before it was gone, and Echizen nodded once. It was clear he did not like being labelled 'mute child', which Gen'emon understood, remembering his other grandchild who was deaf, and was referred to as 'the deaf kid' at his school before he moved away.

"In that case you may continue with your work" he said politely, before walking through the room and towards the door.

"Grandfather" came his grandson's voice again, and Gen'emon turned back to him.

"Mother says that Echizen is staying for dinner" he said flatly, and Gen'emon mentally sighed, not wanting to be associated with the blue-haired child.

"Very well then" he said flatly, before continuing on like nothing had happened.

He quickly entered the kitchen, and opened the top cupboard and pulled out the box of koi food he kept there, and shook it, noting it was rather light. He would have to buy more later.

Gen'emon then quickly strode back through the living room, noticing how the two did not even acknowledge his presence, too busy with their English work. That was good, he supposed, that they were so focused, but Gen'emon could not help but allow his eyes to drift to the child's blue hair, and he mentally scowled as he entered the garden.

What kind of fool dyes their hair blue? Gen'emon had always taught his grandson the traditional ways of Japan, immersing him in culture and tradition, and yet his grandson shows up at his house with this delinquent? It went against everything Gen'emon had ever taught him, and he sighed as he dropped the flakes of koi food into his pond, his koi snapping ravenously at the flakes. After precisely nine pinches of koi food, he stopped and returned back to the house, moving again through the living room and into the kitchen where he put the food back.

"Father" he heard, and he turned to the smiling face of his daughter Masaki, who was wearing a loose blue t-shirt and a long grey skirt. Gen'emon had never successfully managed to drill his ideas of proper Japanese culture into his daughter's head, constantly smiling and being unnecessarily talkative, and dressing in an uncultured style. He mentally sighed.

"Have you met Echizen?" she asked, and Gen'emon grimaced at the memory of a deep sky blue.

"Yes, I have" he said, masking his distaste with perfect pacifism.

"He's a nice boy, don't you think?" she asked with a large smile.

"His hair is blue" Gen'emon replied bluntly.

"Your hair is white, Father" she returned calmly.

"My hair colour is natural" he argued, his face still perfectly passive, because people with proper manners did not raise their voice or express anger.

"But blue is a much nicer colour, and anyway he's staying for dinner, so I trust you'll behave yourself" she said flatly, the smile still on her face but not in her eyes. Gen'emon sighed, not bothering to protest at his daughter's command. He nodded once and walked away, back to the dojo for his kendo practice. Hopefully that would give him some time to clear his mind.

**Sanada Residence**

Dinner was an awkward affair, not quite as awkward as Roko had imagined, but still awkward. He could tell that Sanada's grandfather did not like him, and he had to admit to himself that he probably wouldn't like someone who walked into his home with blue hair either. Sanada's mother cooked the meal, which was Japanese ramen noodles with meat and vegetables, with a side of miso soup and some green tea, and Roko tried not to smile too widely at the sight of some proper Japanese food, compared to the American meals that were usually cooked at his home.

They knelt at the table, quietly enjoying their food before Sanada's mother spoke up.

"Echizen, if I may ask, how did you get into third-year English with Genichiro?" she asked politely, and Roko mentally smiled at the conversation starter. Sanada replied before Roko could raise his hands.

"He's fluent in English, since he lived in America for most of his life" he replied coolly.

"Let the boy talk, Genichiro" his grandfather cut in, and Sanada immediately bowed his head.

"I apologize, Grandfather" he said formally, and Roko was rather surprised. It seemed the Sanada family were very well disciplined, and Roko had very rarely seen Sanada apologize.

"Tarundarou…" the elder Sanada muttered under his breath, and Roko mentally laughed at the realisation of where Sanada's famous catchphrase came from. He then noticed Sanada's grandfather looking at him sharply.

"Echizen Roko, was it?" he asked bluntly, and Echizen nodded his head once, to which the elder Sanada frowned.

"I understand that you are mute, but that doesn't give you the excuse to simply nod your head whenever I ask a question. You must display proper manners and answer properly" he scolded, and Roko mentally sighed. It was clear where Sanada got his strict personality from. Sanada didn't seem to be of any help, eating his food like nothing was going on.

"Father!" Sanada's mother said harshly, but the elder Sanada didn't turn to her.

"Why is your hair blue? It's unfitting of a man to have such ridiculous hair" he stated, and Roko could see Sanada twitch slightly. He probably would have been offended by his statement if he didn't totally agree that his hair was ridiculous. He raised his hands and made signs.

"_It was the practical joke of one of my teammates"_ his hands stated, and the elder Sanada's gaze snapped to the younger Sanada. Roko mentally smirked as he noticed he'd categorized his captain as 'the younger Sanada'.

"Genichiro, you allowed this to happen to your own teammate?" he asked harshly, and Roko couldn't help but pity the younger Sanada, even if his face was perfectly passive.

"It was not under my control, Grandfather" he explained, "I was not-"

"Not under your control?" the elder Sanada cut in, "Genichiro, you are the captain of your tennis team. Even if it is a ridiculous sport, it is unacceptable that you are allowing these kinds of actions" he scolded, and the younger Sanada bowed his head respectively.

"I apologize, Grandfather" he said passively.

Roko held his rising anger firmly in place under his mask. A ridiculous sport? Sanada's grandfather thought that tennis was a ridiculous sport? What kind of supportive family member was he? And there was nothing Sanada could have done to stop it happening, and yet his grandfather was under the delusion that he _allowed_ it? Did he know Sanada at all? Roko raised his hands, catching the elder Sanada's attention.

"_My captain allowed nothing of the sort. The culprit was punished for it, and it will not happen again"_ his hands stated. The elder Sanada frowned in response.

"And how can you be sure that it will never happen again?" he asked bluntly, without a trace of anger in his voice.

"_Because I punished him greatly"_ was all Roko said, allowing some of the building malice to show through in his mask, before he quickly removed it and his expression returned to neutrality, but Sanada's grandfather grunted, getting the point.

"Very well then" was all he said as a reply, before continuing to eat his food.

Roko looked around the table quickly. Sanada Masaki was also quietly eating her food, whilst the Sanada he knew was looking at him thoughtfully, and Roko could tell from his expression that he was thankful. He mentally smiled and returned to his own food. The rest of the dinner proceeded as normal, the four sharing a very familiar comfortable silence, and Roko realised that the silence was a family thing, rather than just Sanada.

After dinner Roko picked up his bag after the plates were cleared, the younger Sanada walking him to the door.

"I apologize for my grandfather's behaviour" he said quietly, and Roko blinked at Sanada's third apology of the day. Would wonders never cease?

"_You're getting too soft, captain" _his hands replied, and Sanada scowled. Roko would probably get laps for that, but using his catchphrase was so worth it.

**Echizen Residence**

It was really stupid, because after the second attempt on Niou's life, the scolding of Sanada's grandfather and the hysterical laughter of his father and brother, Roko decided he actually rather liked his new hair colour. True, he would have made it a darker shade of blue, but he still liked it.

He'd bought black hair dye on his way back home, and had the box placed in front of him in the bathroom while he stared at it in contemplation. He could keep the colour, that would be a nice reminder to Niou to never prank him ever again, but he was pretty sure he had already received the message loud and clear. But he did like the colour, maybe if he bought some darker blue dye he could…

_Don't_, his consciousness interrupted, _you're already the mute boy, don't make it worse_

Roko paused. It was true; he was already the mute boy, so becoming the 'blue-haired mute boy' would be even worse. Maybe he could try a different colour. It wasn't until Roko had looked through the selection of dyes at the grocery store did he realise how many different colours were on offer. He could try something different, he could be blonde, or brunette, or-

_No_

He mentally sighed in defeat, taking the black hair dye in front of him and opening the box. He quickly read the instructions briefly before tossing them aside and beginning.

When his hair was back to its original colour, though it would forever have a thin layer of deep sky blue underneath, Roko proceeded to his room where Ryoma was busy at his desk with a homework sheet. He turned to him with a large smile on his face, but it disappeared when he noticed Roko's hair was no longer blue.

"Damn" he moaned, "Why'd you dye your hair back already? I wanted to take some photos first". Roko tried not to think of the horrors that would unfold if Ryoma had pictures of him with blue hair, and made signs with his hands.

"_At least I don't have a fan club"_ his hands replied curtly, effectively shutting Ryoma up, and Roko proceeded to his bed, pulling out his iPod and earphones to have a moment of peace.

"How was your captain's house by the way?" Ryoma asked, not looking up from his work, but looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"_Way too Japanese for anyone"_ his hands replied, and Ryoma snorted before returning to his work.

**By the way 'Tarundarou' means 'you're getting too soft'. Just so you know.**


	28. Stalkers

**I love your positive comments to Roko's satanic demon mode. It gave me a wonderful idea :D**

**Seishun Gakuen Tennis Courts**

"Inui"

Inui turned to the sound of the voice, unsurprised to find Fuji standing there with his usual smile in place.

"Yes?" he asked quizzically, although he could guess the reason for Fuji's appearance.

"What data have you managed to gather on Echizen Roko?" he asked quickly, but Inui could sense the eagerness behind it. Fuji was being even more blunt than usual, which was only a testament to his excitement. He sighed loudly, and Fuji frowned at his response.

"Not much" he admitted, "there are some very interesting details, but not much else. I quickly discovered that being completely silent yields little or no data at all. In fact our Echizen could probably tell you more than I can". Fuji clearly did not like that, his face forming into a frown.

"In that case, what do you know?" he pressed, and Inui smiled at his need to know.

"Well, first thing's first, the other Echizen goes to Rikkaidai Fuzoku" he stated bluntly, and Fuji looked appropriately shocked, and then he frowned in contemplation, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Nya!" came a voice, and suddenly Kikumaru materialized next to Fuji, who did not seem at all surprised by his sudden presence.

"Does Echizen really go to Rikkaidai?" he asked quickly.

"Eh? Why're you guys talking about Rikkaidai?" came another voice, and the three noticed Momoshiro standing a few feet away from them looking very confused.

"Momo!" Kikumaru cried, "Did you know that Ochibi's brother goes to Rikkaidai?" Momoshiro gaped in shock.

"Eh? Really? I thought I recognized his uniform" he said to himself, and Inui noticed how Fuji's expression changed, which was probably him just remembering why the other Echizen's uniform was so familiar.

"What are you guys talking about?" came another voice, and everyone turned to notice their Echizen standing behind them with an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

_Is there anyone else conveniently standing nearby?_ Inui thought irritably.

Kikumaru moved in a blur, suddenly in front of Echizen.

"Ochibi! How come you never told us that your brother goes to Rikkaidai?" he wailed, and Echizen's expression didn't change.

"Because you never asked" he said smoothly, and Momoshiro appeared next to Kikumaru.

"But I asked you why he didn't go to Seigaku!" he protested, and Echizen nodded his head once.

"Because he found a school with better education, just like he said" he replied, and Momoshiro was lost for a decent rebuttal after that. In his amused watch of the scene unfold; Inui hadn't noticed Fuji had moved a few millimetres closer to him.

"So, Inui, what else can you tell us?" he asked eagerly, and everyone's heads turned to them.

"Yeah! Inui, tell us more about Echizen!" Kikumaru pleaded.

"You have data on my brother?" Echizen demanded, but no one listened to him. Inui scrolled through his notebook.

"When I discovered that Echizen Roko was part of Rikkaidai Fuzoku, I called my friend Yanagi Renji, the data master of Rikkaidai. He fed me basic information about the other Echizen, nothing important, but he did mention that he is in fact a regular for their tennis team" he stated, and the three of them displayed appropriate shock, whilst Echizen's expression didn't change.

"I could've told you that" he cut in, but again nobody listened.

"What else?" Fuji pressed further, and Inui pushed his glasses up his face before continuing.

"He is a speed-based player whose style relies heavily on maintaining that speed. He is friends with the new captain of Rikkaidai, Sanada Genichiro, since he is the only one in the school who knows sign language"

"I could've told you that"

"He also bears a particular grudge against Niou Masaharu, the team's trickster. Echizen enjoys eating plenty of cake and listening to music, when he is not practicing tennis or drinking tea. He is also hated by the non-regulars of Rikkaidai, who believe he shouldn't be a regular"

"I could've told you that"

"He despises attention, can be easily aggravated with the proper scenario and runs in his spare time"

"I could've told you that"

"Yes, _thank you_, Echizen, I am aware. However since you refuse to yield data on your brother, I had to do digging myself" Inui replied irritably. Echizen shrugged in response and walked away like nothing had happened.

"That's all?" Fuji asked, sounding very slightly disappointed. Inui sighed loudly.

"Sadly yes, that is all". Inui could detect the slight frown from Fuji, contrasting greatly with the two pouting loud-mouths of Seigaku.

"You can always ask about him when we see him at our game tomorrow" Inui added. Fuji seemed to perk up, and suddenly there were two arms around his shoulders.

"Nya! Of course, Fuji! We'll all get to know Ochibi's brother better!"

**Seishun Gakuen Tennis Courts**

Why on Earth did Fuji want to know more about Roko? Ryoma couldn't understand it. He supposed that because he couldn't talk that made him interesting, but it didn't give him the excuse to allow Inui to stalk his brother – which he most likely did. He wondered if Roko had noticed Inui probably hiding in the bushes nearby, like the crazy juice-maker would do.

He sighed loudly, for some reason feeling violated at the realisation that Inui had probably been following his brother. But Ryoma supposed that if Inui gathered useless data like that then it didn't really matter, but the part about 'running in his spare time' really bothered him. Had Inui followed him back to their house? He shuddered at the thought.

"Echizen"

Ryoma looked up to meet the stoic mask of his captain, and he could see that he had his 'I-will-make-you-run-laps' look on his face.

"Why aren't you practicing?" he asked bluntly, and Ryoma sighed.

"Because I was wondering why Inui-senpai and Fuji-senpai were talking about my brother, and apparently Inui-senpai has been stalking him and gave Fuji-senpai some data on him" he replied, and Ryoma mentally cackled as he saw Tezuka's expression change.

"Inui skipped practice to follow your brother?" he asked without a trace of irritation.

"Seems so" Ryoma replied coolly, and in an instant Tezuka was gone. Ryoma chuckled at the thought of Inui getting laps. Suddenly the tone of his phone in his bag interrupted his laughter, and he frowned and reached into it, pulling it out and checking the screen.

It was from Roko.

Ryoma frowned deeper. Roko never sent messages unless there was a problem. He quickly opened the message and read it.

'_I'm being followed. Could you tell your senpai that I'm sick of pretending he isn't there? It's really annoying'_

Ryoma froze, and then frowned again. But Inui was right here, he couldn't be following Roko now. Could he? Was Inui that much of a stalker? Ryoma quickly decided he was thinking nonsense and put his phone away, picking up his tennis racket quickly.

He tried not to think much of it; it was probably a rival team looking for data on him.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Daigo Kakuba gritted his teeth as he rallied a ball against a wall by the regular clubhouse, imagining the mute kid's face in the centre. It had been nearly three weeks since he was humiliated by the mute boy in the regulars ranking tournament, and the anger and rage he felt had not subsided at all. He was nearly going to become a regular. He would have been one of the most popular kids in the school, and he would have taken the nationals with his team, crushing all his opponents. But instead that idiot freshman had come along and defeated him without losing a single point, shattering his dreams into a thousand pieces and forced him to watch and cheer on the side-lines as the freshman took his place on the court.

He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand any of it. He couldn't bear to watch that freshman defeating his opponents one after the other, and his team praising him for it, even _Sanada._ Was that kid such a kiss-up that he was good friends with the captain? Daigo had never seen the captain smile before, and yet this freshman comes along and becomes his _friend_? Unacceptable! He now had even deeper ties with Rikkaidai, and so it would be deeper to pull him out by the roots.

Yes, ever since he was humiliated, Daigo had not stopped training and practicing, and neither would he stop until he took the regulars jersey that was rightfully his. He refused to acknowledge that that kid was better than him, because he wasn't. Daigo would do everything in his power to beat him, and make sure none of the regulars became infected with his disease.

He knew about that too, that disease that made him unable to talk. It was disgusting. He walked with the regulars, talked with them, ate with them, all the while slowly infecting them with that disgusting disease of his. No, he wasn't just doing this for his own pride, but for the sake of the regular team too. Look at Yukimura, half a day with that kid and he collapses and gets sent to hospital. That only made his belief stronger that Echizen Roko must be destroyed!

He had been following him for a while now, watching him practice every time he did, taking in his style, and his shots, including that super-fast serve with his left hand, and worked on how to counter them perfectly. He was almost there, a few more days at most, and Daigo would be ready to take his place.

"Hey, you" came a voice, and Daigo stopped rallying and turned to a third year who he dimly recognized, not that he really cared who he was. He was tall and had a skinny frame. He had a weird hairstyle similar to Niou's, and his hair was deep brown. He had a pointy noise and thin lips, and pale green eyes. He noticed he wore the tennis uniform of a different school, but he didn't really care which.

"What?" he asked irritably, and the guy didn't back down.

"Where are the Rikkaidai Fuzoku tennis courts? I'm here to challenge Echizen Roko" he replied, and Daigo then noticed the tennis bag he was shouldering. Daigo just snorted and raised an eyebrow.

"No way, you can't challenge him until I've beaten him" he stated, and the guy's eyes widened.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"It's true" Daigo replied calmly, "I was defeated by Echizen weeks ago, and ever since I've been studying his tennis style and moves, looking for the weaknesses and figuring out how to beat them. I know everything about his tennis style, but can you say the same?" he asked, and he smirked as he noticed the guy hesitating.

"Exactly, there's no way you can defeat Echizen until you know his style and until you've practiced 'till you pass out" he stated, and the tall guy frowned, and then smiled deviously.

"In that case, how about we help each other?" he asked, and Daigo snorted.

"You? Help me? How could you do that?" he retorted, and the guy snorted in a really stupid way.

"We work together to beat Echizen, and then we both get our revenge" he offered, and Daigo smiled widely. Yes, that was a good offer, one that he couldn't refuse.

"In that case we'll take our revenge on the mute kid after Rikkaidai's third game" he said, and the tall guy nodded.

"Daigo Kakuba" he introduced.

"Yakuta Ippei"

**DUM DUM DDUUUMMMMMMM**... **Yeah I'm done now**


	29. Caretaker Complex

**Why is my hundredth review someone answering a question I asked 16 chapters ago!? AGH! I was so excited because I hoped my hundredth review would be something like 'OMG your fic is so amazing I love it. Roko is so cool'. I swear you people just love trolling me.**

**And Jackal gets the spotlight in this chapter since he's majorly underused in every fic ever, and I decided that he needed a personality.**

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens Courts**

Jackal watched passively with Marui at his left as Akaya and a player from another school shook hands on the court. Normally Echizen would have played Singles 3, but after much pestering and complaining from him, Sanada relented and allowed Akaya to play if only to get rid of him. Echizen didn't seem to care at all, barely paying attention to the game with his earphones in his ears, sitting behind Sanada and on Jackal's right.

Echizen was definitely a nice change to the team. True, he had moments where Jackal wondered what kind of monster was hiding in that first year, but he was generally a great change. Jackal had played practice matches against him, and could confidently say that he was the least irritating player in Rikkaidai, since he didn't shout some snide remark every time he scored a point or subtly push his glasses up his face.

He mainly liked Echizen though because of how he could relate to Marui. Jackal, like the rest of the team, had been rather shocked to find out about Echizen's disturbing cake obsession. In a way Echizen reminded him of Marui when he was eating a slice of cake, and that somehow made him more approachable to Jackal. He guessed it was because he spent too much time with his hyperactive doubles partner, constantly paying for him or getting him out of situations.

Jackal liked to think himself as the one who held the team together. He knew that it was technically Sanada, but when Marui or Akaya got into trouble Jackal would be the one to pull them out of the situation, and Sanada would just watch, stating that they could get out of the situation themselves. Sanada, while he was captain, didn't really care too much about his teammates outside of the courts, and if any sort of problem arouse he would dismiss it with a simple grunt. So Jackal, in his own opinion, was the caretaker of the team. That was a good word, a caretaker. Since he literally took care of the team whenever they did something stupid, mainly Marui and Akaya (sometimes Yanagi when he goes too far with his data collecting), but never Niou, he was crafty enough to get out of situations himself.

"Game, Kirihara! 4-0!" the umpire called, and Jackal looked up in dismay, realising he'd not paid attention to half of the game. Akaya seemed to be breathing hard, since he didn't know the meaning of holding back and burned up his stamina too quickly. Jackal could hear Sanada mutter 'Tarundarou' in the front row, which was code for 'you're going to run laps later', and Jackal sighed loudly.

Kirihara went to the baseline and served, using as much power as he could despite his exhaustion, and Jackal felt his caretaker complex kick in, suddenly thankful he'd brought an extra bottle of water. Akaya's opponent seemed to have a lot of stamina and was coping fairly well despite his losing streak. They continued to rally back and forth for a while, Akaya's opponent continually hitting the ball to the corners of the court, forcing Akaya to run back and forth. Jackal tried not to wince as Akaya barely returned the last ball, and his opponent hit it to the other corner, Akaya moving to return it.

And then he tripped and fell, and the ball passed. Suddenly laughter broke out from the other team, and Rikkaidai collectively frowned.

"Oi, is he really from Rikkaidai?"

"They must be so weak this year!"

"No wonder, since their captain is dying in the hospital"

There it was. No one turned their head to the direction of the voice, but Jackal could suddenly sense an evil aura emanating from every one of the Rikkaidai regulars. Jackal himself could only worry about whether they would kill the guy for saying that.

Actually, when he did a double take, he noticed Echizen wasn't even fazed. But judging by the volume of music coming from his earphones he probably didn't even hear it.

"Oh no" he heard Yanagi say, and Jackal turned back to the court, noticing Akaya was standing back up. He froze when he realised something.

His eyes were red.

He was angry.

This was bad. _Very_ bad.

Akaya gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with murder, as he returned to the baseline and bounced the ball before squeezing it in his hand, and Jackal recognized the Knuckle Serve.

_Don't do it Akaya_, he silently pleaded, _don't hurt him_.

Akaya served and the ball flew across the court in less than a second, landing roughly before spinning on the ground and flying up at his opponent. It struck him straight on the forehead, and he stumbled back before falling to the ground, dropping his racket and clutching his forehead, which was now bleeding. Jackal winced as he realised how much blood was pouring from the wound, and Akaya cackled.

"I'll paint you red!" he shouted at his opponent, who stood back up awaiting his next serve.

It continued like this for several minutes, the Knuckle Serve, or a smash aimed at the opponent's knees, and suddenly he was red. So, so very red. Jackal shuddered as he watched his poor opponent stand up again despite the protests of his team.

Jackal despised Akaya's tennis style. It was awful; to hurt someone to the extent that Akaya did with a tennis racket and ball. It should be banned from tennis, in his opinion. The way he lost control and screamed murder at his opponent contrasted so much from the kind and loyal Akaya that he knew that it terrified him, and it terrified everyone else too.

Jackal was so engrossed in the game, along with the rest of the team, that he didn't even notice until he looked around that Echizen was pale. Very, very pale, and shuddering as if he had just seen a ghost. Jackal's heart was suddenly in his throat, and his caretaker complex was on overdrive.

"Echizen, are you alright?" he asked hesitantly, and the rest of the team woke from their horrified trance and turned to him, all of them suddenly bearing similar looks of concern.

"Echizen, what's wrong?" Niou asked from behind him concernedly. Echizen didn't respond, and continued staring at nothing and shuddering, his skin the palest white Jackal had ever seen. He suddenly felt a tightening grip of fear at his kouhai's lack of response, and turned to what Echizen was staring at.

Akaya's opponent, covered in blood, panting on the ground.

_He's afraid of blood_, Jackal realised, and he turned back to Echizen. He put an arm on his shoulder and tried to calm him.

"Echizen, calm down" he said softly, but that did nothing as Echizen quickly stood up and walked away as fast as he could, leaving the concerned and stunned Rikkaidai regulars behind.

"I'll go after him" Sanada immediately said, already stood up. Jackal stood and shook his head at him.

"Stay here Sanada, I'll take care of him" he said without room for debate, but Sanada turned to him with a harsh frown.

"You can't understand him" he argued, and Jackal frowned as he realised that was true. But right now he was too concerned about Echizen to care.

"I'll just calm him down, stay here and watch over your team" he ordered at his own captain, and walking off before he could get a response. He didn't hear a 'Tarundarou' or yell from Sanada, which meant he was fine with it, or at least he would allow it for now. Jackal didn't particularly care which as he went off in search of his terrified kouhai, taking his spare water bottle with him.

**Kanagawa Tennis Gardens**

Marui was a genius. That meant he wasn't stupid.

So when his doubles partner ran off to find Echizen who'd practically ran away pale as a ghost, Marui quickly decided that he needed to follow, because that's what teammates do.

See? He wasn't stupid.

Marui quickly found Echizen, but decided not to approach him. He was leaning by a vending machine doubled over and breathing heavily, and from where Marui stood it looked like he was trying not to throw up. He couldn't put in words how worried he was about his kouhai, and fellow obsessor over cake, and Marui really wanted to dive out from behind the bushes – he had no idea why he was hiding to begin with – and comfort him, maybe give him some cake. That would make him feel better, because cake makes everyone feel better, but for some reason he couldn't get his feet to move, and so stayed rooted to the spot.

Thankfully Jackal appeared a moment later, walking up to Echizen, who was too busy trying not to throw up to notice his presence. It wasn't until he was stood in front of him that Echizen, from his doubled over position, noticed his shoes and looked up at him. Jackal handed him a water bottle in his hand, which Echizen took gladly and gulped down.

"You worried us, Echizen" Jackal stated, and Marui couldn't agree more. But he was rather surprised at how Echizen didn't look at Jackal with his stoic mask or usual blunt expression, but he stared at his water bottle like he was trying to bore a hole through it. Jackal seemed to get the point and sighed.

"If it bothers you that much you should try talking about it" Marui practically winced at Jackal's statement. That was pretty much the worst thing he could've said to someone who can't talk, but Jackal quickly opened his mouth again.

"I don't mean to us, but you could use a pen and paper, I mean your family and Sanada if you want to. We're here for you Echizen, even if we can't understand you, we do care about you" he said softly, and Marui smiled from his bush. That was definitely something Jackal would say, he was far too nice to be blunt, and had to sugar everything he said with the truth, even if it was obvious. Of course they cared about him, he was their freshman ace. Echizen was still looking at his bottle like he was waiting for it to move. Marui could see Jackal's eyes harden from twenty feet away, and Jackal pinched Echizen's chin and lifted his head towards him.

"Echizen. People may say you have a disease, or that you're a freak, or that you don't deserve to be a regular, but stop acting like you're not human. You can let your thoughts out, you know" he said, and Marui for some reason felt the weight off his feet lift.

That's right, he was the mute boy. Marui may not have classes with Echizen but he'd heard about it. People thought he had some kind of awful disease; they thought he was a creep for not being able to talk and they thought he was too stupid to be a regular. It made his gut stir in anger. He was subject to this torture every day, and there was nothing he could do to repel the bullying and remarks. He was painted to be some kind of diseased freak of nature, and Marui couldn't stand it. He was only a kid.

He was only a _kid_.

He didn't really know what he was doing, but before he knew it Marui had left his bush and was striding ahead quickly. Jackal looked up and frowned.

"Bunta, why were you hiding in that bush?" he asked suspiciously, but Marui ignored him.

"Echizen, do you wanna get some cake afterward?" he asked, and he couldn't help but feel his gut wrench in guilt as Echizen's eye lit up. It was so freaking adorable that Marui wanted to squeeze the life out of him, but he mentally restrained himself and smiled widely when Echizen nodded.

"Great" he said, the smile not leaving his face, and Echizen mirrored his own smile, his phobia of blood forgotten.

"We should be heading back" Jackal cut in, and Echizen nodded before jogging back. Marui followed but was stopped when he felt an arm gripping his hand, and he looked back to Jackal, whose face was deadly serious.

"If he's going to be like that when Akaya goes crazy, we need to talk to Sanada" he stated with no room for debate, and Marui frowned but nodded.

"We can't have him scared every game" he agreed, and Jackal nodded in acknowledgement.

"By the way" Marui added, "I liked your speech, it was very heart-warming". Jackal's eyes widened and his skin flushed in embarrassment.

"You were listening?" he asked tightly, and Marui smirked teasingly.

"I was, though the thing where you lifted his chin was really cheesy" he commented, and Jackal's embarrassment evaporated, replaced with a frown, and he shook his head disapprovingly.

"You are unbelievable" he muttered, and Marui smirked wider.

"Yeah, but would you change me?" he asked laughingly.

**Chapter 30 will be extra special. SEE THE TRUTH OF ROKO'S SCHOOL LIFE**

**...**

**Yeah over-dramatization much? Seriously though I'm looking forward to writing it**


	30. Another day of school

**My newest story, 'Red Eyes', has been posted. It's a Naruto OC fanfic, and hopefully you guys will read it. That's all**

**I'm sorry that this chapter isn't particularly special. It was supposed to be 6k words or something ridiculous like that but I got majorly bored half way through. So chap 31 will be part 2 of chap 30. And we finally get onto the obvious plot point of Yukimura's illness. **

**Finally.**

**Oh, and by the way, when I'm done with chap 31 I will probably do a time skip to the end of the District Tournament because I really don't want to write about every single match.**

**And thanks to Mist455, my number one fan (apparently) **

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Sanada was sick today.

That's what Roko had heard from Yanagi, who had become the temporary captain. Apparently he'd woke up with a fever but still got ready for school, despite the protests of his mother and grandfather. It wasn't until Yanagi was waiting outside the gate for him and saw how pale he was, that he ordered him to go back and get some rest or he would suffer the consequences.

One does not question Yanagi Renji, a man who probably knows all of your deepest darkest secrets, not even Sanada.

So today Yanagi was the co-captain, and while Roko was curious about the training methods they would undergo, it probably involved a lot of power juice. He shuddered as he recalled the memory of the green sludge that practically gave him a concussion.

He had to admit to himself that he was worried. It wasn't like he hadn't had many school days in America where there was no one who could understand sign language, but it felt kind of lonely without his interpreter by his side. It also meant that there would be zero communication from him, unless he had a pen and paper. So basically tennis practice was simple orders and no small talk, which Roko supposed was fine, he'd never liked meaningless conversations anyway, and Yanagi wasn't one for them either.

Yanagi, of course, took full advantage of his position of power to test his newest juice.

"Yanagi-senpai…" Kirihara began hesitantly, "what is that thing?", gesturing to a tall glass of pale green liquid in Yanagi's hand. Yanagi smirked deviously.

"This is my ultimate power juice, Penal Tea #2" he replied triumphantly, and everyone collectively paled.

"We will run twenty laps, and last place gets to test the Penal Tea #2" he stated, and Roko tried not to smirk. Twenty laps weren't very long, which meant this would be a speed test rather than endurance. He could practically sense the shudders from Jackal and Yagyuu, whose weaknesses were speed.

The regulars moved to the starting line, excluding Yanagi, and he smirked widely.

"Go" he uttered calmly, and Roko blinked as every other regular took off like they were possessed. He stood there for a moment, rather stunned and confused, before Yanagi spoke up.

"Aren't you going?" he asked slowly, holding up the pale green liquid for emphasis. Roko frowned but nodded, jogging after the regulars who were half way through their first lap. True, it was a test of speed, but at the speed they were running at they would be dead by the last lap, maybe less for others, so Roko didn't worry, taking his time with his laps.

Just as expected most of the regulars in their terror of the Penal Tea #2 were slowing by the tenth lap, though Marui was slowed on the seventh. Roko casually overtook them at his jogging pace, and he could hear Niou mumble something incoherent. He quickly passed Marui, and then later Jackal, Niou, Yagyuu and Kirihara, getting into first place. It didn't really matter whether you won or not, but what was important was that the loser would drink the tea, which was looking to be Marui, who was walking and breathing heavily.

_Idiots, Yanagi's drink made you burn up your stamina before you even realised it_. Roko mentally sighed as he crossed the line, completing his final lap and grabbing first place. Yanagi was stood there and nodded to him with a small smile.

"Congratulations, Echizen. You passed the test, which means you won't be drinking the Penal Tea #2" he said, and Roko frowned.

"The point of this test was to conserve stamina" Yanagi added helpfully when he noticed his frown.

Oh, the real point of this exercise wasn't speed, but maintaining your stamina under pressure. Roko understood now, and distantly felt sorry for the others who had thrown themselves into their own demise without realising.

Actually, he wondered if he should get his phone so he could take pictures and remember this moment, as he watched the crowd of regulars trudging towards the line, with Jackal in the lead. He thought for a moment before deciding and quickly running to the clubroom to get his phone, turning on the camera before running back, just to see the regulars cross the line. They all instantly collapsed, and Roko smiled and lifted his phone, taking the first picture.

_Snap._

_Beautiful_, he thought, scanning his new memory on his phone of his half-dead teammates on the ground.

"And now, for the rest of you, you get to drink the Penal Tea #2" Yanagi declared, and the regulars on the ground looked up in astonishment.

"EEEEHHHH!?"

Roko smiled widely as Yanagi poured five glasses of Penal Tea #2. This would make some beautiful photos. Maybe he should make a collage of his dead teammates for Yukimura to cheer him up. He thought about it, and then smiled widely.

Yes, he would definitely take some wonderful photos for him later, as Yanagi passed the first glass to Yagyuu, who took it hesitantly.

_Snap_.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

A neurological disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system.

Symptoms include weakness in feet and hands, as well as dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.

It is a life threatening illness that causes paralysis in the limbs and can affect a person's respiratory tract and eventually kill them.

The disease can be cured by major surgery, but the survival chance is only 50%.

Yukimura Seiichi was the Child of God. He was the captain of the Rikkaidai tennis team, and he was the figurehead of the entire school, and as such, Yukimura Seiichi did not cry. He refused to cry.

The doctors had only gotten the results back this morning, after three weeks of waiting. According to them, samples of Yukimura's blood had to be sent abroad for analysis, including reports of various tests and procedures performed, and here were the results.

He didn't quite understand it, but he felt excited when the doctors came in with the results. He supposed that it meant progress was being made, that the three weeks of him sitting here in a hospital bed doing nothing was not in vain. But he felt like an idiot all of a sudden for ever considering being excited, because now he realised that for three weeks he'd been waiting not for the day he could leave, but his chance of survival.

50%

The operation was complex, and various tests had to be performed for the next few months in order to establish the severity of his disease before it could be done.

_The next few months_.

Yukimura Seiichi did not cry. He raved, he shouted, he wailed in anger, but he did not cry. He would sooner die than have someone take pity on him because of tears.

He stared mindlessly at the ceiling, wondering when he should tell his teammates about this. How would this affect Rikkaidai Fuzoku? How would this affect his friends?

He sighed loudly as he concluded that he would be stuck here for much, much longer with nothing to do… Well, almost nothing. He half turned to his newest book on the table next to his bed and smiled.

He'd asked his parents to pick up a book on sign language a few days ago; since he decided he might as well do something constructive with all of his free time. Yukimura was rather surprised at how complex sign language was, and even more so that he was self-teaching rather than learning from a tutor. He was just starting on the basics, and it seemed that a visual language was in an entirely different league to a verbal language. He sighed as he reached for his book and picked it up, engrossing himself in the signs.

He'd wailed and wallowed in his despair for long enough now, so he might as well stop and do something useful.

He read on for a few minutes before his phone chimed, and Yukimura turned with a frown, picking up his phone on the table. Who would send him a message at this time? Perhaps Sanada?

Yukimura didn't recognize the number, but he did recognize the people in the images that were attached.

It was Jackal, on his knees on the ground, panicking and wailing with his dead teammates sprawled out on the ground before him, with green liquid dripping from their chins. Yukimura burst into laughter at the sight, laughing like he hadn't done in years. He tried to stop but he realised he couldn't stop laughing, and he quickly scrolled to the next photo.

It was Yanagi, smiling evilly as he handed a tall glass of pale green liquid to Marui, who was shivering, his eyes wide. Yukimura's laughter renewed as he took in Yanagi's evil smirk, and he felt so happy in that moment he completely forgot about his chances of survival.

When he calmed down he looked at the message.

_Sanada is sick today, so Yanagi took advantage. Hope these make you feel better - R_

_Echizen_, Yukimura thought with a large smile as he scrolled through the photos. These were golden, his teammates in various states of death or near-death, with green liquid present in every one. Yukimura smirked as he considered Echizen's talent as a photographer.

He smiled wider than he had before at the realisation of how happy he was. Even when he was at his lowest Echizen had picked up his spirits again, and Yukimura thanked him silently.

He suddenly really wanted Echizen to visit today, he wanted to try some sign language with him, and thank him for the photos.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

Roko was mentally cackling at his new photos. He wasn't an ace photographer, but he knew a good photo opportunity when he saw one, and he had several beautiful moments, including a dying Marui in Jackal's arms, with pale green liquid dripping down his chin, and Jackal panicking and trying to get a response out of him.

He smiled widely and put his phone away, heading to his first class. Today was Friday which meant he didn't have English until last period, and so his first lesson was Biology, which Roko guessed was ok. His grades were good, but no more or less.

He then looked up and noticed that a group of first-year girls were glaring at him. He frowned at them, and they noticed he'd acknowledged them and sauntered up to him. At the head was a first-year girl with long blonde hair and orange skin from too much make-up, making her look like a clown.

"Are you Echizen Roko?" she demanded, and Roko raised an eyebrow. It seemed he'd done something wrong, but whatever it was Roko wasn't really interested, he was more interested in getting to class, but judging by the glare of this girl he wouldn't get away easily. So he nodded his head in response. The girl's eyes flared angrily.

"You! You're the one that put Yukimura-sama in the hospital!" she accused loudly, her eyes blazing with rage. Roko stopped and frowned. Did he? He was pretty sure Yukimura had collapsed, not beaten to near-death by him or something. What was this girl talking about?

"It's all your fault!" a girl added from the background, "Infecting Yukimura-sama with your disease!". There were shouts of agreement, and Roko rolled his eyes. Now he understood what this was about, these girls obviously thought he had an actual disease, and had come to the conclusion that he had infected their precious 'Yukimura-sama'.

He frowned as he realised he'd never encountered these girls before. Yukimura had been in the hospital for three weeks, so why were they accusing him now?

Oh, that's right. Sanada wasn't here to glare at them. Roko flinched as he realised that the non-regulars would realise that too and probably avenge Yukimura in their own way. He mentally sighed loudly.

"Don't ignore me!" the lead girl shouted, and Roko looked up, realising he had been spacing out the entire time.

It was at that moment that he noticed a projectile object flying straight towards him, and Roko didn't have time to react as it hit him on the side of the head. The force of the collision knocked him to the ground, and Roko felt himself hit the floor, and noticed that the object that had hit his head was a rock - or a pebble, he wasn't sure.

_That really hurts_, he mentally groaned, pulling himself back up, steadying himself on the wall. His vision was slightly blurry, but he ignored it, deciding it would clear up later.

"Stupid mute boy! You infected our Yukimura-sama!" another girl called, and Roko mentally sighed in annoyance. He was not in the mood for this. He turned away, ignoring them, walking to his next class.

"Hey!" came the lead girl's voice, and Roko heard a slight _whoosh_ behind him. He quickly stopped and took a step to the left, and he saw another rock fly past his shoulder and land on the ground in front of him.

_These girls are insane_

Roko quickly decided to increase his pace after he looked back and noticed another girl holding a rock in her hand. He jogged away, and could feel another whoosh of air behind him and the slam of a small object against a wall before he disappeared around the corner and onto his next class.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

The bell rang, and Roko was already out the door with his bag on his shoulders, his head still throbbing. Thankfully, since Sanada wasn't present in any other class than English, the freshmen in his Biology class saw nothing unusual and decided not to pester him like they usually did. After all, who'd want to be associated with a diseased kid?

Roko mentally sighed as he recalled the exact same memories in his previous school in America. It seemed Japan wasn't as different as Nanjiroh had claimed after all.

"You!" came a deep voice, and Roko turned to notice a group of third years glaring at him in the same way those freshmen girls had, and Roko knew instantly what was going to happen. He turned and walked away like they weren't there, and Roko only managed three steps before he felt a tight grip on his shoulder.

"Don't you ignore me, you little brat" the third year spat, "We've been wanting to get our revenge on you for a while"

_Can you at least wait until the end of the day?_ Roko thought irritably, as he was roughly shoved against the wall, and the three third years surrounded him, all of them glaring at him angrily. He mentally sighed as it was clear that wasn't going to happen.

"You think you can just hang around with the regulars and show all of us up?" the leader demanded angrily.

_I already have, you idiot_

"Stupid mute boy" another third-year hissed, "You've infected Yukimura, and now Sanada. Who'll be next?" he demanded.

_Wait, what? When did I infect Sanada?_ He wondered. He guessed that the third-years had come to this conclusion because Sanada had called in sick today, and Roko scowled. Were they going to blame him every time someone got sick?

"You shouldn't even be associated with the regulars" the last third-year declared. Roko rolled his eyes and kept his passive look on his face. They were just stupid comments and Roko saw no reason to be concerned by them. This was different to his match with Yakuta Ippei, these were people that were jealous of him, and Roko was in school, not in an open area.

But he couldn't walk away since he was surrounded, so he just stood there and waited for the third-years to do something. Apparently his lack of reaction only angered the third-years further, and the leader grabbed him and lifted him off the ground so he was at eye-level with him, but Roko's expression had not changed.

He quickly looked around, and noticed that no one was making a move to help him. They were all frozen with looks of pity, satisfaction or silent encouragement. So they were totally useless.

Rather than giving a long droning speech like Roko had expected, the leader drew back his arm and punched him across the side of his head, in the exact same spot where he had been hit by the rock. He dropped to the ground in an instant on his back, thankful that his bag absorbed most of the fall impact, but his vision suddenly swam with black spots and he saw blurry images standing above him, and judging by how their bodies shook Roko guessed they were laughing.

_That hurt_ he thought harshly, and from what he could tell the leader lifted his leg and stomped on him. Roko felt his stomach wrench in agony, and he gasped in pain, before the third-years laughed again and walked off. Roko groaned lowly before pulling himself up. His shirt seemed fine, and there weren't any visible signs of the encounter, which made things easier. He quickly went to the nearby bathroom and looked in the mirror, scowling at the bruise on the side of his head. He was pretty sure he could play it off as nothing, but people would definitely notice.

He mentally sighed as he left the bathroom and went to his next lesson like nothing had happened.

**Chapter 31 will be posted tomorrow or later today depending on how bored I am**


	31. Breakdowns and Revenge

**Longest chapter ever, and I feel that I went too far with the drama here. Let me know what you guys think, if I did go too far.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku ****Rooftop Garden****  
**

Roko mentally sighed in exasperation as he ate his bento box alone on the roof. Normally he would eat with the regulars under the largest sakura tree in the school grounds, but as he approached from his class he noticed several third years standing by the door that led to the outdoor grounds, and they took notice of him and all glared at him, making it clear that Roko was not allowed near the regulars. They tried to approach him but Roko quickly got the idea and walked away. He would eat alone then.

He then went to the cafeteria in hopes of grabbing a slice of cake to eat with his lunch. But as soon as he entered the cafeteria half of the conversation in the room silenced, and after a second pause a familiar group of first year girls stood up from their seats and stormed towards him, and Roko quickly left, blending back into the crowds going back and forth. Or at least he tried to, but it was rather difficult when everyone he passed stared at him in horror or anger and whispered 'mute boy'.

"It's that mute boy!"

"Shh! don't stare, you'll get his attention"

"But isn't he the one who infected the tennis club captain?"

"Shh!"

"It's that kid!"

"It's him!"

"It's the mute boy!"

"The mute boy!"

"Mute boy…"

"Mute boy…"

"Mute boy…"

The words around him faded into mumbles and incoherent words, and Roko shoved his growing malice down his throat and continued on.

Roko didn't realise until he finished recalling his day that he had broken his chopsticks in half with how tight he was gripping them. He scowled and put the broken sticks down, since he was finished with his lunch anyway. It seemed now that Sanada was gone the entire school saw this as an opportunity to get their revenge, regardless of the fact Sanada would very likely return tomorrow. But Roko didn't want Sanada to return tomorrow. He wanted him to return _now._

He gritted his teeth in anger and annoyance and confusion and sadness, and stared at the ground for the longest time.

_Why are you so upset?_ His consciousness asked.

_Because I'm alone. Everyone looks at me like I'm a demon_

_Wasn't it exactly the same in America?_

_No, it was better there because people didn't think I infected their stupid 'Child of God'_

_And yet you're acting exactly the same_

_What do you want me to do?_

_Didn't Jackal say something important to you?_

_What?_

_He said 'Echizen. People may say you have a disease, or that you're a freak, or that you don't deserve to be a regular, but stop acting like you're not human. You can let your thoughts out, you know'_

_And you want me to let my thoughts out?_

_Yes, stop pretending that you don't care; do you think anyone will care for you if you hide behind that mask of yours?_

Roko noticed that his eye was going misty, and he clenched his jaw tightly.

_Do not cry, _he told himself.

_You're really stubborn, you know that?_

_Go away_

_Fine, but don't make me say 'I told you so' later_

And then Roko's head was just empty, and he closed his eye tightly to stop the tears from falling. He would not cry. He would not cry about anything. He would not look like a helpless kid, he was not helpless, and he never will be. Being pitied was a close second in things he hated most, and the only thing he hated more was his nickname.

"_Mute boy"_

"_Stupid mute boy"_

"_You don't deserve to be a Rikkaidai regular, you stupid little mute boy"_

Roko clenched his fists until he knuckles were white, staring at the ground with misty eyes. He would not cry.

He stood up quickly, wiping his eye and picking up his bag and stuffing his empty lunch box into it. He was going to go for a walk, since it wasn't even half way through lunch. He quickly produced his iPod and earphones from his bag and put them in, and the music boomed into his ears. The loud, electronic chorus of guitars and keyboards helped calm his mind, and he quickly left the rooftop garden, opening the door and involuntarily slamming it behind him.

**Class 2C – History**

Kirihara hated history. He also hated English, math, physics, geography, biology…

The point is, he wasn't the role model student in any subject other than PE, and so he had a growing hatred of all other subjects.

But today his mind was not on the history worksheet in front of him, but on the freshman ace of Rikkaidai.

He hadn't shown up to lunch today. Kirihara couldn't understand why, he'd seemed normal enough in practice and there wasn't any problem with him when he passed him between classes. He looked perfectly fine, his face in his blank expression as usual.

The only thing that had changed, in Kirihara's opinion, was yesterday's match. He didn't even realise it, but when his match against his opponent finished, half the team went berserk at him for using his Bloodshot Mode. Kirihara didn't mean to use it, but when they insulted Buchou like that he became so angry and suddenly he couldn't control himself. But that wasn't the problem, according to them, Echizen had paled like a ghost and was shaking like a leaf at the sight of his blood-covered opponent, and Kirihara quickly realised he was afraid of blood.

He was worried. Kirihara wasn't stupid enough to think he could just supress his Bloodshot Mode; it was far more complicated than that. He couldn't simply stop, and it scared him because it scared Echizen because he was afraid of blood. Echizen didn't look at him any different today, but Kirihara still felt like something was off, and he knew it was because Echizen was scared of him.

As much as Kirihara hated to admit it, he wasn't half as good as he was without Bloodshot Mode, and he knew that that was the only way of winning against tougher opponents. But could he just use it in every game with Echizen watching? How would he react? Kirihara didn't know, but all he knew was that Echizen was scared of blood, and his tennis style was all about injuring his opponent.

Kirihara knew that he was the reason Echizen hadn't shown up at lunch. He couldn't bear to look at him, and it was tearing him up inside. How much longer would this go on for? Would Echizen think of him as some kind of demon?

He gritted his teeth in confusion and anger at himself. This was all his fault, he'd lost control and injured another player, all while traumatizing his own teammate. He hated his Bloodshot Mode, he hated injuring people, and he was inwardly scared of his own tennis, but when it came down to a match and Kirihara did his best not to get angry, that somehow made it easier for him to lose control.

"Kirihara!" the teacher called, and he looked up to notice the teacher was glaring at him.

"You haven't written a word. Get on with your work" she ordered, and then turned and walked away. Kirihara gritted his teeth even more in anger. He couldn't write a single word right now, but he had to in order to keep a decent grade. His grades had to be at least above average – meaning a C+ or above – or he would be kicked off the tennis team, so as much as he didn't want to, he picked up his pen and wrote words that were all code to him.

**Class 1A – Music**

Roko inwardly sighed as he wrote out the scores for the piece he had to compose for his exam. Music was a very different subject that he rather enjoyed, because rather than playing an instrument, they were taught the different notes and how to properly compose a piece. They then put their notes into a specialised computer programme that played it back to them with a choice of instrumental sounds. For his piece Roko had decided to compose a classical violin piece, since he rather enjoyed composing slow, soft sounding music. It contrasted greatly to his choice of music, but there were times where electronic and rock music didn't exactly cut it when it came to calming him down.

He knew that his music teacher wanted him to play an instrument since he enjoyed composing and was pretty good at it. In fact he too wanted to play an instrument, but he could never find one that suited his tastes. He did enjoy the sounds of the violin, but there was something about the instrument that was… _off-putting_. He couldn't really describe it, but that was how it felt to him.

Fortunately because he had headphones on plugged into the computer, he could play his piece back in peace, but he could feel the stares of people on his back. He mentally sighed in annoyance for the hundredth time today; it seemed that no one would give him a moment of peace, and he hadn't been able to talk to the regulars either, since there were always two to five third-years between them glaring at Roko.

He played back his piece, and closed his eye as he allowed the slow violin piece to overtake him, and he felt his anger drifting away like a cloud in the sky.

And then he felt something heavy hit his back, and he turned around in flaring annoyance to see a text book lying on the ground.

_Stupid immature brats_, he thought irritably as he picked up the text book, and stopped when he realised he sounded exactly like the third-years that despise him so. The thought made him scowl, and he picked up the text book and scanned the cover. It appeared to be a text book on music composure, though Roko already had a copy. He frowned and put the text book on the desk in front of him before turning back to his computer, not even bothering to turn to the assailant. The teacher didn't seem to notice either, but Roko didn't really care, continuing to listen to his piece like nothing had happened.

_What did I tell you?_ His consciousness cut in irritably

_I thought I told you to go away_, Roko mentally replied.

_Yes you did, but you clearly didn't listen to me when I said to let your thoughts out_

_So what do you want me to do? Punch the guy in the face?_

_If it makes you feel better, then yes_

_No way, not in a full classroom._

His consciousness sighed, and Roko's brow furrowed. Could his consciousness sigh? Did it even work like that?

_Yes I can sigh, and it works however you want it to. I'm just the logical part of your brain telling you what to do._

Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, it seemed even his own brain was against him today.

_I'm not against you, I'm trying to help._

_If you're trying to help then could you leave me alone for the rest of the day?_

_The rest of the day,_ his consciousness repeated, _but tomorrow I'll be back_

His head felt empty again, and Roko gave the barest audible sigh possible before returning to his score. It was nearly finished despite the project being due in two days, which gave him some time to relax.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

Roko mentally groaned as he noticed seven third years all standing by the door to his next class. His second-last period of the day, History, was located on the other side of the school, so Roko had taken a shortcut through the school grounds, but immediately regretted it when he noticed the third-years waiting for him. He would have stopped and turned away but he felt a very tight grip on his shoulder, and he noticed another third year standing behind him. The others seemed to notice and sauntered up to him.

So basically he was out alone in the school grounds with eight angry third-years now surrounding him. Wonderful.

They didn't waste any time with talk or snide remarks, and one of them just drew back his fist and tried to punch him. Roko stepped to the side despite the guy's grip on him, avoiding the punch.

"Oy, Azuki!" one third year snapped, "Hold him still!" The third-year identified as Azuki sighed and hooked his arms underneath Roko's armpits and hoisted him up in the air so he was at eye-level with the third-years. Roko didn't even bother trying to protest or fight back, considering he was severely outmatched, so there was no point in trying. The third-year drew back his fist for another punch and Roko just looked at him passively, mentally bracing himself.

Pain blossomed on his face as he heard the sharp crack of flesh on flesh, and Roko's head was jerked to the side by the force of the punch. His face stung but he ignored it, turning back to the third-year with his cold expression.

_Just get it over with_, he thought despairingly. He just wanted this to end so he could go to his next class. The third-years got the message, and the next one moved forward and punched in across the face too. There was a sharp pain and a lasting sting, but Roko kept his mask on.

_Smack!_

_Smack!_

_Smack!_

_Smack!_

_Smack!_

It continued like this for a while, each third year taking a turn to punch him, sometimes the face and sometimes his gut. Roko was rather impressed that his jaw was holding together and his mouth wasn't internally bleeding, but he probably had a very bad bruise.

_It hurts_, he thought as the next third year stepped up and punched him square in the gut. All of the air in his lungs whooshed out and Roko gasped in agony as more pain erupted in him. The third-years seemed to be getting bored, and the tall guy Azuki dropped him to the ground, and Roko was instantly on his knees, holding his stomach and curling up in agony. Azuki himself grunted once, and then kicked Roko square in the face before he walked off, his friends in tow.

Roko was spread across the ground, still amazed he hadn't received any fractured bones. He was pretty sure his nose was bleeding from the guy's kick, but other than that he was relatively fine. He tried to stand up, only to be greeted by agonizing pain in his stomach, and he audibly gasped at the rush of pain. He clenched his teeth, willing for tears not to fall.

_Do they really hate me this much?_ He wondered, and forced back his tears. Why was he hated this much? No one had ever hated him this much. Was he really that much of a burden to the team? Did they hate him too?

_They hate you. Everyone hates you._

_That's not true. The regulars care about me._

_Stop lying to yourself, that's all an illusion._

_No. You're lying._

The silence that followed caused Roko's eye to become misty again, and yet he refused to cry. He would _never_ cry.

He quickly stood up, ignoring the eruption of pain in his gut and head, and dusted himself off. He wouldn't let this get the better of him, but he knew that if he went to history now there would only be questions.

_Screw this_ he thought, and walked out of the school gates. He didn't know where he was going; he just wanted to get away from everything.

_You don't deserve to be a Rikkaidai regular, you stupid little mute boy_

Roko increased his pace as he hid his cracking facade behind a cold mask, wandering aimlessly away from his school.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

"Where the hell is Echizen!?"

"How should I know? I don't follow him around all day"

"Actually, you do, and you have done for the past three weeks!"

"Only when he's playing tennis, and I have my own classes too!"

"Well next time you shouldn't lose him!"

"We haven't lost him, he'll show up later"

"It's been twenty minutes since your club's practice started! He's not going to show up"

"And what do you want me to do about that?"

"Find him! I'm not waiting another day to get my revenge on him!"

"Fine then, let's go look for him"

Niou listened for a long while to be certain the footsteps had gone before standing up from his crouched position behind a bush. He was curious what Daigo was doing walking into the trees in the middle of practice, and had decided to follow him, hoping it would be good blackmail material. What he found was the guy he remembered from their second game standing there having an animated conversation with him.

He remembered his anger flaring at the very sight of the guy had insulted Echizen, and he wondered what Daigo was doing with this guy. From what it looked like they were forming some kind of alliance to get back at Echizen for beating them. Niou scowled as he noted how idiotic their tactic was, because it wasn't like the two of them together would stand a chance against Echizen anyway. What he found interesting though was that Daigo had been following Echizen around for the past three weeks. It seemed that he was really dedicated to beating Echizen, and Niou sighed loudly in annoyance. These guys were just too stupid.

He knew that he wasn't exactly on good terms with Echizen, but that didn't make him any less worried about him. He hadn't seen the kid all day, aside from morning practice, and he had heard from the other third-years that people were going to get their revenge on him since Sanada wasn't here to protect him. Revenge for what, he wasn't quite sure, but what he did know was that Echizen was very likely in trouble.

He quickly stood up and left the forest area next to the courts and quickly emerged out, spotting Yanagi and approached him immediately.

"Yanagi" he began, "We may have a problem". Yanagi looked up at Niou with a raised eyebrow, and his face became serious when he noticed that Niou's characteristic smirk wasn't present.

"What is it?" he asked sharply, and Niou explained what he had heard to an ever-stoic Yanagi.

"I see" he said when Niou had finished, "So Daigo and Yakuta have formed an alliance…" He paused for a moment and then closed in notebook in his hand.

"In that case there is something I must do" he said, walking away, leaving a stunned and confused Niou behind.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Yukimura turned towards the opening door, expecting a nurse to enter and give a false smile while she checked the machines that monitored him, but he was rather surprised to see Echizen standing in the doorway. He smiled widely at his visit, already opening his mouth to thank him for the photos when he noticed Echizen's expression. He stopped, and softened his features.

"Echizen, what's wrong?" he asked softly, and in an instant Echizen had crossed the room and was crushing Yukimura into a hug. He was so surprised at the sudden action that he was momentarily stunned, and then quickly recovered and awkwardly returned the hug, not really sure what to do.

"Echizen?" he asked again, very confused, but he stopped when he noticed that Echizen was shaking.

Was he… crying?

Echizen's body started to shake more, and Yukimura could feel water droplets on his hospital clothes, and yet Echizen didn't make a sound. Yukimura was stunned for a moment before he realised what was happening and wrapped his arms around him in a comforting embrace.

"Shh, Echizen, don't cry" he said softly, and Echizen didn't respond but only continued to shake and silently cry into Yukimura.

Who had done this? Why was Echizen crying? Wasn't he supposed to be in school right now? Yukimura felt his anger flare suddenly, and he lifted Echizen's head so he could look him in the eye. He slowly lifted his head and gasped when he noticed an ugly purple bruise on the side of his head and his cheeks were both bruised to a deep red. Echizen's one visible eye had tears streaming down it, and Yukimura suddenly felt guilt wracking his guts as he looked into his despairing eye.

"Echizen. Who did this to you?" he asked, his voice flaring with silent anger. Echizen's eye only filled with more tears and he buried his head back into Yukimura as he continued to shake. Yukimura held him in a comforting embrace, swallowing his anger that was burning in him like a furnace. Whoever had done this will pay. They will suffer. Yukimura would make sure they never saw the light of day again.

Where was Yanagi? Where were the regulars? Yukimura hadn't received any sort of message from Yanagi signalling distress, so what had happened? Did the others not know about it?

Echizen continued to shake for the longest while, and Yukimura just held him, feeling so confused and useless that he couldn't do anything, and eventually Echizen slowly stopped shaking, until he stopped completely, his head still buried in Yukimura, and he could tell that Echizen had fallen asleep in his arms. He must be exhausted.

Yukimura immediately snatched his phone from the table next to him and dialled Yanagi. He picked up after two rings.

"Seii-" he began.

"Are you with the team?" Yukimura cut in, and Yanagi paused.

"Yes, I'm in the clubroom with them" he replied.

"Put me on speaker" he ordered, and Yukimura could hear a small beep on the other end.

"Buchou?" he heard Akaya ask.

"What the hell happened to Echizen?" he demanded, and there was a shocked pause.

"Seiichi?" he heard Yanagi ask.

"You heard me. What happened to him?" he asked sharply, and there was another long pause.

"Seiichi, we have no idea what you're talking about" Yanagi replied hesitantly.

"Don't give me that Yanagi!" he snapped uncharacteristically, "Are you saying you have no idea what happened?"

"Yukimura" he heard Jackal cut in, "Please calm down, we don't know what you're talking about". That did not help Yukimura's attitude in the slightest.

"Where has he been all day?" he asked, and there was another pause.

"He was here at morning practice" Yanagi said, "But we didn't see him afterwards, he didn't eat lunch with us either, and he hasn't shown up to after-school tennis practice". Yukimura fumed angrily.

"Why?" Yanagi dared to ask, and Yukimura felt his temper rise.

"Because I have him with me!" he snapped, "He came to me crying and covered in bruises, and eventually passed out from exhaustion from all of his crying" He paused.

"Yanagi, you have five seconds to tell me what happened to him" he hissed, and there was a very long pause.

"I think I might know" Niou said, and Yukimura waited.

"I heard some third-years talk about how they were going to get their revenge on him" he began, and Yukimura frowned. Revenge? For what?

"Niou-kun?" he heard Yagyuu ask hesitantly.

"You know how people think that Echizen has a disease?" Niou asked, and Yukimura narrowed his eyes.

"Yes?" he asked testily.

"Well from what I've heard, they think you're in the hospital because Echizen infected you, Buchou. So they decided that since Sanada isn't around to protect Echizen, they'd get their revenge on him for infecting you"

Yukimura and the rest of the team were silent for a very long time.

"_Who?"_ Yukimura asked, his voice a razor.

"I'm not sure" Niou replied, "But I know that it's mostly your fan club". Yukimura gripped his phone so tightly he was sure he would snap it in two.

"Yanagi" Yukimura said sweetly, his sudden change in mood causing a terrified silence.

"Y-yes?" Yanagi stuttered.

"I want the names of every single culprit who did this by tomorrow. If you don't have them you will suffer". Yukimura then hung up, and placed his phone back down on the table, and turned to the sleeping Echizen and stroked his hair.

_Echizen_, he thought angrily, _I will not let them get away with this_

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Gates**

Sanada Genichiro was a man of many traits. He was sometimes calm, sometimes irritable, sometimes a taskmaster, and sometimes lovable.

And on very rare occasions, he was equivalent to a psychopath-murderer.

This was one of those very rare times. Yanagi had given him the details of what had occurred, and Sanada had reached the school gates at the speed of a bullet, since his illness had mostly cleared up. He instantly saw the faces of the two people Niou had mentioned as conspirators against Echizen – Daigo Kakuba and Yakuta Ippei.

So now he had both of them pinned against the walls of the school, one person in each hand, while on-lookers quickly walked the other way at the sight of Sanada's psychopath-murderer death glare. The two people in question were both pale as ghosts and sweating profusely onto Sanada's hands, which disgusted him even further.

"You two" he began slowly, "Will tell me what you have been up to _right now"_, the two shuddered in fear and their eyes grew in size, and Sanada glared at them with such unbridled fury that the stare alone would have bored through their heads.

"W-we…" Daigo managed to stutter.

"Go on…" Sanada said slowly, his murderous aura never leaving.

"We wanted to get back at Echizen for beating us s-so…" Daigo continued, his voice tight with fear.

"Yes?" Sanada asked, slightly louder, and shoved them both further into the wall for good measure.

"So we teamed up and… and we wanted to get our revenge" Daigo finished. Sanada's eyes flared maniaclly.

"Did you hurt him?" he demanded lowly, and Daigo and Yakuta both shuddered.

"N-no!" Daigo protested, "We were just going to humiliate him like he did to us"

Sanada snarled and dropped them both to the ground, since they were both totally useless. In an instant the two sprinted away for their lives, and at least they would never bother Echizen again. He growled lowly to himself in burning anger that made his head feel like it was going to explode.

"Genichiro, you're here already" he heard Yanagi's surprised voice, and Sanada turned to him, so angry in that one moment he distantly considered killing him even though he had done nothing.

"Yanagi, what do you know?" he asked sharply, but Yanagi was not fazed.

"I found several loud culprits under Seiichi's orders. They were particularly loud and bragged about how they took turns punching Echizen in the gut and face" he replied calmly, and Sanada gritted his teeth in rage.

"_Where?"_ he asked, but Yanagi shook his head.

"They're being interrogated by Kirihara right now, and you know how he is when he gets angry, and he's especially angry today. You might not want to interrupt in case Kirihara does something stupid". Sanada felt some of his anger subside at the memories of his Bloodshot Mode, and he felt himself grow cold.

"Kirihara severely injures his opponents on the courts, and you left him that angry _alone?_" Sanada demanded, "He might kill them!" Yanagi shook his head again, and Sanada frowned.

"I called Seiichi about the interrogation, and he himself gave Kirihara specific instructions not to harm any of them or he would suffer. So he will likely just shout at them menacingly, and since half of the tennis team is already afraid of his Bloodshot Mode, they will snap quickly under his demands" Yanagi replied, and Sanada finally let his anger subside.

"Until then" Yanagi continued, "Would you like a drink? It'll be my treat" Sanada nodded once, only noticing now how hoarse his throat was from shouting. Let Kirihara mentally scar them all he wanted, as long as Sanada went next.

**Incoming time skip next chapter.**


	32. Cello Case

**Time skip: Activate!**

**Welcome to the future, where the District Tournament has just ended and the schools will soon break up for the winter holidays.**

**I assume that Japanese schools start after the summer holidays, so my timetable goes like this:**

**-District Tournament**

**-Winter Holidays**

**-Regional Tournament**

**-Spring Break**

**-National Tournament**

**-Summer Holidays**

**And I love how no one complained that I was being over-dramatic last chapter, and several people cried. Thank you people who cried, since I actually cried writing the Roko x Yukimura scene. ;_;**

**Echizen Household**

"Roko"

Roko looked up from his Japanese breakfast to his brother, who had finished his food and was smiling cockily, and Roko raised an eyebrow in response.

"We'll be playing each other soon" he stated, the cocky smile never leaving. Roko smiled in realisation. The District Tournament had ended several days ago, with Rikkaidai taking the Kanagawa Tournament without problem, and Seigaku taking the Tokyo after a valiant struggle from Hyotei. It seemed that every school in Tokyo was far more skilled, and it irritated Roko to no end.

"_It will be quite a long time"_ Roko replied, which was true. Schools would break up in a couple of weeks for the winter holidays, and then return to train for the Regionals in the spring. So it was about four or five months before Seigaku would play Rikkaidai. But in Roko's honest opinion he didn't really care for playing Ryoma, since they played each other at home most days. They both knew each other's style and techniques inside-out, and could imitate those to perfection, but they both simply chose not to. As much as Ryoma apparently was excited, Roko couldn't care less. Ryoma seemed to notice this and frowned.

"Why aren't you excited?" he asked quizzically, and Roko rolled his eyes.

"_We play each other every day" _his hands replied, and Ryoma frowned further.

"Except this'll be an official match" he protested, and Roko just shrugged, ending the conversation. Roko stood up, taking his and Ryoma's plate and placing them in the sink before Ryoma also stood up and went to the door, picking up their bags in the hallway, and Roko picked up his cello case next to his bag.

Yes, his cello case. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd been roped into it, but after his music exam, which he passed with flying colours, his music teacher decided that he must play an instrument, and it was no longer Roko's choice. Roko had decided immediately that he wanted to play a strings instrument, despite his immoral hatred of the violin, and so he decided on the cello. He sort of understood why, but he couldn't really explain it. He liked the resounding sounds it made because it was larger, and he supposed he liked the larger bow, but because it was larger there was something about it that seemed more_ human_ to him than any other instrument. He guessed it was because it was the exact same height as him, so it kind of felt like he was carrying something of more value.

It was also a bonus that since the thing was so heavy, Roko bemusedly considered carrying the thing back and forth most days his stamina training menu for tennis.

Fortunately music club was basically an extension of music class, so rather than going to music class Roko would go down the hall towards the larger room where the music club was held. It at least meant that his timetable with tennis club didn't clash, which was always a bonus.

He'd been part of the music club for three weeks now, and he could say that he was improving. He'd mastered the basics easily, and he impressed the teacher by composing his own pieces for his performances rather than using an existing piece, because every week the club held a miniature performance where the club members took turns performing a piece for the club, as a way of measuring how much you develop in the club.

He could say with confidence that he enjoyed music club greatly, just about as much as tennis club. It was a much quieter atmosphere, and Roko could lose himself in the music without having an angry captain shouting down his ear. But then again, Sanada had not once raised his voice at him ever since his … _incident._ When he looked back on it he realised how embarrassing it was that he ran crying to the captain, and he felt pathetic for it, but ever since Sanada had treated him with a lot more care than the other regulars.

The first week was especially careful. From what Roko had heard, Yanagi had rounded up everyone that had attacked him, and they were tortured and threatened with death if he was harmed again, and rumour quickly spread, and now no one dared whisper 'mute boy' in fear of a murderous captain. Actually, it would be _two_ murderous captains. So during the first week there was always one regular with him, and Roko had been forced to register all of their numbers in his phone in case of an emergency.

He mentally sighed loudly.

"Are you coming?" Ryoma asked testily, and Roko looked up to see Ryoma holding the door open with a raised eyebrow. Roko quickly slung the cello case onto his back, putting his arms into the two straps and carrying his bag in his left hand, since he no longer had space on his back for it.

They quickly passed the front yard and their father who was lazily pulling the rope attached to the bell with his one foot whilst reading his usual magazines. As expected Momoshiro was waiting outside the gate on his bike for Ryoma, and he waved to them.

"Yo, Roko" he said, and Roko mentally sighed. Momoshiro had decided that to tell the two apart, he would call Roko by his first name and Ryoma by his last. He wasn't exactly sure how that made sense, and really it should be the other way around, but Roko couldn't argue even if he wanted to, so he just waved back and walked the opposite way to the train station, whilst Ryoma hopped on Momoshiro's bike and they rode to Seigaku.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall**

Roko ended his cello piece with a long, low resounding note, and then stopped. The people who watched smiled widely and began clapping softly at his performance, and his new music teacher, Yamura-sensei, stepped forward with a wide smile on her face. She was a tall woman with short-cropped brunette hair, soft features and large green eyes.

"That was wonderful Echizen, you've improved dramatically since you started" she stated with a wide smile, and Roko nodded in thanks. He stood up from his chair, carefully carrying his polished wooden cello back to its case with two hands, and placed it back in slowly, tightening all the clasps before shutting the case and locking it.

The music hall wasn't really big enough to technically be called a 'hall'. It was about forty feet wide in both directions, with chairs scattered about and various musical scales laminated and pinned to the wall, and a single desk at the front. It was quite a barebones room, but Roko didn't complain, since simplicity was always easier.

Yamura-sensei stepped to the front of the room and turned to her club members, who were twelve in total including Roko.

"Alright then" she began, "As you know it's nearing the winter holidays, and as such the Music Club will be putting on a concert to the school on the last week of school". Roko's eye widened as the rest of the club started mumbling animatedly with one another. He'd never heard about this.

"And so", Yamura-sensei continued, "We need a soloist for our concert. The headmaster had asked for a soloist who we think has improved the most and would put on an interesting show, since the point of the concert is to show how much the Music Club has developed". She then turned and looked Roko in the eye, and Roko visibly frowned at her, his expression clearly saying 'No'. But if Yamura-sensei noticed that, she gave no sign as she smiled widely.

"Echizen, I would like you to perform the solo for our concert" she said, and every other club member turned to him. Roko could tell immediately by their expressions that they all agreed, and he mentally groaned.

_Please no, why do I have to do it?_ He thought to himself. Yamura-sensei smiled wider.

"The concert will be in two weeks, and since you will definitely compose your own piece, I would like you to perform it to me before-hand" she said, and Roko nodded in understanding, he'd expected that.

"So your piece must be the best" Yamura-sensei claimed, "It must be loud, powerful and beautiful", emphasizing the last three words with a dramatic waves of her hand, and Roko mentally sighed. Sometimes Yamura-sensei was far too flamboyant to be normal. She turned around and picked several sheets of paper on her desk and began handing them out.

"So here is the line-up for the concert, practice hard" she said with a wide smile as she passed them around, and Roko raised an eyebrow. Another thing about Yamura-sensei that surprised him is that she did not waste time. He quickly scanned the sheet he was given, which contained the order of the pieces that would be performed and who would be playing them. He scanned the names, and his heart sank as he realised his own name was on every single list. He shouldn't be surprised, considering that he was the only one who played the cello, and low, resounding notes were actually rather important in an orchestral piece. So he would play in every piece including his solo, wonderful.

"Now then" Yamura-sensei continued, clapping her hands together for emphasis, "Practice hard, and there will be rehearsals for the concert starting next week", and with that the bell rang, signalling the end of this period, and now it was on to his free period for English tuition with Sanada.

"Echizen" he heard Yamura-sensei call, and Roko turned to her while the others filtered out, she smiled widely at him.

"I would like to hear your piece during the rehearsals, and I want to be blown away by it"

_No pressure then_, he thought sarcastically, nodding and leaving the room, since he would pick up his cello at the end of the day.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Library**

It had become a rather odd tradition for Sanada. He would take his usual chair at their usual table in the library, and wait a few minutes for Echizen to show up with a piece of cake on a plate. He would sit down on Sanada's left, open his books and go over the work with Sanada, and then give him several questions to answer, and Echizen would eat his cake whilst he was doing it. If Sanada had English homework then Echizen would listen to his music with his earphones whilst completing his own homework, stopping if he noticed a mistake in Sanada's work.

Today Sanada had a rather lengthy worksheet to complete, but judging by the fact Echizen had not made any move to correct him for some minutes, he must be doing it right. He quickly completed the next question with the oddly reassuring quieted sound of music coming from Echizen's earphones next to him as he completed his own work, since he had long since finished his cake.

Sanada had grown very comfortable with Echizen's tutelage. He saw their relationship as more of a give-and-take kind of scheme, working to both their conveniences. Echizen tutored him and kept him company – which he rather enjoyed, admittedly – and Sanada would be Echizen's protector.

He scowled at the use of the word 'protector'. He wasn't necessarily his bodyguard, but more like his unrelated older brother. Sanada knew that he was protective of Echizen, and had been especially so the past few weeks, but the more he thought about it the more he realised that he didn't care. Echizen, in Sanada's opinion, was the fitting candidate for someone to talk to about whatever, since he would never raise his voice to attract attention – obviously – or give his own opinions or ask intruding questions, paying undivided attention and never interrupting – again, rather obvious. Sanada had to admit to himself that it was nice having Echizen as company, he may not be able to speak but that made him even better company to him, and he realised that the more he spoke to him, the more he realised Echizen could tell you far more than any person could who could actually speak. It was strange, but when it was just them two alone, Sanada could somehow depict Echizen's thoughts just by his body language and expression, even when he put on the emotionless look of his.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the light tapping of a pen on the table, and Sanada looked to Echizen, who was gesturing at his paper, pointing to a particular word. Sanada looked at the word, frowning, and then the whole sentence, reading it over, before realising his mistake and quickly correcting it, nodding to Echizen in thanks. Echizen returned with his own nod and went back to writing on his piece of paper. Out of curiosity, Sanada leaned slightly so he could glance at Echizen's work, and quickly realised he was writing out a musical score on the paper. It looked very complex and had notes Sanada didn't recognize, and he was rather curious as to how he managed to write a musical piece with completely different music blasting in his ears.

"Echizen" he said curiously, and Echizen removed his right earphone before glancing at Sanada.

"What are you listening to?" he asked, and Echizen frowned for a moment, and Sanada realised that he had never once been curious about what Echizen listened to before. Echizen shrugged and placed his right earphone back in his ear, removing the left one and handing it to Sanada. Sanada took the earphone and placed it in his own left ear just as the music started. He was rather surprised by the slow, rhythmic beats of what sounded like a steel drum. The music built up on layers of a soft electronic keyboard, and the intro was long and slow-paced.

_**Take me down to the riverbed**_

_**Take me down when the fighting ends ~**_

_**Wash the poison from off my skin**_

_**Show me how to be whole again**_

Sanada was rather surprised by how much of the verse he could understand, and Echizen went back to writing his score like nothing had happened, and Sanada returned to his own work, again surprised by how little the soft electronic music distracted him.

_**Fly me up on a silver wing**_

_**Past the black where the siren sings ~**_

_**Warm me up in the nova's glow**_

_**And drop me down to the dream below.**_

'_**Cause I'm only a crack**_

_**In this castle of glass**_

_**Hardly anything there for you to see**_

_**For you to see**_

Sanada drifted into his work with the music in his one ear, and decided he rather liked this song. For some reason he felt it suited Echizen well.


	33. Karupin's Adventure

**I have been wanting to write this chapter forever. Literally ever since I came up with Roko, let me know what you think :)**

**Echizen Household**

Karupin awoke with a soft yawn on the bed of his first master, in the first and second master's room. He quickly scanned the room, realising that both his masters were missing, but he could distantly hear voices downstairs, and so Karupin stood up, quickly licking his fur for added cleanliness before jumping off the bed and quickly moving down the stairs.

In the hallway were his two masters' bags, and the strange large box that his second master often carried with him. Karupin had wondered what the strange box was and why his second master carried it, but he had seen his second master pull out the object within – a large, wooden object with strings, made into an odd shape. He had wondered what the object was for, and watched his second master carefully pull out the large object, taking a stick with a piece of string on it. When he placed the stick on the strings of the object, it produced a very odd sound that Karupin very much liked, and so he had decided that as long as the sound continued, he liked his second master more.

He entered the kitchen, and neither of his masters acknowledged him. His first master was having an animated conversation with his second master, and his second master simply made his strange gestures with his hands. Karupin passed them quickly, proceeding to his food bowl at the other end of kitchen, which was already filled with food. He put his head in the bowl and quickly ate the delicious food, licking his lips when he finished. He looked around, noticing that his masters were still talking with each other.

The perverted master was missing, probably ringing that odd metal object of his, and the female master had probably already left for her daily duties. Karupin crossed the room, back into the hall, unnoticed by his two masters.

He noticed that in the hall, the second master's strange box was slightly open, and he moved forward to investigate. Yes, it was open, since the odd metallic pieces on the side had not been closed to seal the box. Karupin, out of curiosity, decided to lift the lid of the strange box with his head, and crawled inside.

He quickly discovered that the box was dark and cramped, but the box was lined with soft velvet. He quickly snuggled into the soft velvet, feeling himself drift off.

After a few minutes, he heard a click outside of the box, and suddenly the box shifted, and Karupin rolled to the side at the bottom of the strange box, the velvet softening his slight fall and preventing him from being harmed. He lifted his head, checking his blackened surroundings, and sensed nothing, and so he returned to his sleep.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall**

Karupin woke up with a soft yawn, again quickly checking his surroundings, and then realising it was pitch black. He tried to shift his position, but the task was impossible in such a tight space. Karupin lifted his head, and oddly the lid of the strange box lifted, and light poured into the box, and Karupin could see he had indeed been resting against his second master's strange wooden object.

He quickly crawled out of the box, scanning his new surroundings curiously. It was a large room with a wooden table at the front of the room and several chairs. Karupin scanned for signs of his second master, since he had climbed into his box, and noted that his second master was not present.

Karupin noticed an open window at the other end of the room, and could hear human voices, and quickly crossed the room, jumping up to the window sill and scanning the open area. There were a few humans scattered about talking and doing human-like things, all wearing that strange fur of theirs, like the one of his second master. Karupin jumped from the window and landed on the ground, since the window was only several feet from the ground, and he again scanned for his second master. No sign.

His ears suddenly pricked when he heard a very familiar sound. It was the sound of his masters' circle on a stick hitting a round object, and Karupin quickly moved to locate the source, fortunately no humans noticed him, too engrossed in their human-things.

The area quickly changed, and the sound of a circle on a stick hitting a round object got louder. It was a large open area with many humans mingling and swinging similar circles on sticks back and forth, whilst others played that game that his masters often competed in with their own circles on sticks. There was a large mesh fence surrounding a green box with white lines drawn on that Karupin recognized from the similar white lines drawn in their masters' front garden. So this must be where his second master practices that odd game of his.

He again scanned for the master, but did not see any signs. He sniffed the air, and he perked up when he recognized the scent of his master mixed in with many other scents of the humans. He quickly moved through the bushes that surrounded the area, and stopped when he noticed that the scent of his master was coming from a small building. He moved quickly, undetected into the small room.

It was a room lined with odd flat chairs that went across the room and metallic doors. There was no one here, but Karupin strongly recognized the scent of his second master, and moved toward it. He stopped when he realised the scent was coming from the familiar bag that his second master also carried with him, so his master had already left.

Karupin scanned the room again, now unsure what to do. He could stay and wait for his second master to return to his bag, since he always carried it with him and would return for it, or he could search for his second master.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as a new presence stepped into the room, and Karupin looked up to see a human standing in the doorway, with large green eyes and odd black curly hair. Karupin quickly decided it was time to escape, as the human shouted something in his vulgar tone, and Karupin quickly moved to the open window, jumping to it and jumping out of the other side before the human could intervene.

So it seemed he would have to search for his second master after all. Karupin could faintly smell his second master, but he could not be sure where the scent was coming from, and so he moved to locate the source.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Yanagi looked into the doorway of the regular clubhouse with a frown, making sure there was nothing there before turning to a confused Kirihara.

"Yanagi-senpai" he protested, "I saw it! There was a racoon right there, and when it saw me it jumped out of the window!" Yanagi sighed, controlling his patience. It seemed Kirihara was just babbling nonsense to him, but he couldn't disprove him if Kirihara claimed that the racoon had escaped and jumped out of the window.

"Alright then, Kirihara" he said after a while, "Return to practice, if it's gone then it shouldn't be a problem" Kirihara hesitated but nodded, and Yanagi sighed, moving back to Sanada who was watching the regulars practice.

"What did Kirihara want?" Sanada asked when Yanagi returned.

"Apparently there was a racoon in the clubroom, but it jumped out of the window when Kirihara walked in" Yanagi stated bluntly, and Sanada raised an eyebrow.

"A racoon?" he asked confusedly, and Yanagi simply nodded. Sanada frowned and turned back to the regulars with a grunt.

"_Tarundarou…"_ Sanada muttered under his breath. Yanagi shook his head and watched the team play shuffle matches with Sanada. Echizen was playing against Jackal, who seemed to be faring well against him, and they seemed about even, but Yanagi could tell that Echizen had the upper hand, but just barely. Marui was playing against Yagyuu, who were also playing evenly, and Niou and Kirihara were just loitering around.

Yanagi inwardly was happy about the progression of the team, since they had all improved significantly. They would definitely be ready for the Regional Tournament, and they would take it without problem.

Actually, there was the problem of Seigaku. Yanagi wasn't a fool to underestimate his rivals, especially a team like Seigaku, since they had also won their District Tournament. He knew that their captain, like Yukimura, was on a national-level, and then there was the Golden Pair, their deadly power player Kawamura Takashi, Sadaharu, their data master, and their freshman prodigy, Echizen Ryoma.

Yanagi was indeed looking forward to the Regionals. He had asked their Echizen for data on his brother, but he refused to yield it, as his brother would do the same for him. Yanagi didn't like it, but he didn't show it, if Echizen chose to be secretive then that was fine. Yanagi supposed he wouldn't yield data to Sadaharu about his sibling if he asked, so he understood Echizen's point of view.

"Yanagi"

Yanagi looked up to Sanada, who was eying him from the corner of his eye.

"Yes?" he replied in a measured tone.

"You're getting too soft, spacing out in the middle of practice" he stated bluntly, and Yanagi smirked despite himself.

"Why, Genichiro, I have no idea what you're talking about" he said softly, the smirk never leaving his face. Sanada stared at him for a while.

"Stop that" he said.

"Stop what Genichiro? I cannot refrain from said activity if you do not specifiy what exactly it is that I have done. Any less would be blunt and indirect, not to mention crude. Don't you agree, Genichiro?" he asked softly, and Sanada's face twitched. He opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped, closing it again with an annoyed grunt and turned back to the team like nothing had happened, and Yanagi mentally cackled.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

Karupin sniffed the air, trying to track the scent of his second master, but the scents of other humans masked it, and Karupin found it impossible to locate him. It was irritating how the scent of the humans overlaid his second master's scent, and Karupin had decided to wander aimlessly in the hopes of finding him.

The long halls of the building were empty at this time, since the humans had returned to their small rooms for whatever reason, which gave Karupin more time to search for his master. He flicked his tail back and forth as he scanned the corridors, and stopped when he noticed a door slightly ajar. He approached it curiously, and peered in.

There were several large humans in the room, holding odd furry-things on sticks covered in coloured liquid, as they brushed these sticks onto large white sheets in front of them, colouring the sheets as the stick moved. It was confusing for Karupin to watch, and he peered in slightly more curious.

"Eh! What's that?" he heard a voice, and he looked up sharply to see a female human in the room had spotted him, and in and instant a tall male human with closed eyes and strange hair stood up. Karupin quickly bolted out of the room, dashing down the corridors as he heard the door open behind him and the sounds of questioning shouts.

He quickly covered the distance of the corridor, and turned a corridor into another strange corridor that seemed to go on forever. He ran a moment longer before he stopped, sniffing the air again.

Fish.

Karupin's tail swayed in excitement as he wandered to the door that the aroma was coming from. It was another room, larger than the previous room, with large metal boxes that Karupin recognized from his masters' domain. There were several young humans hurrying about, moving with strange objects in their hands, but Karupin only saw the cooked fish on a dish in the corner of the room.

He quickly moved under one of the tables to avoid detection, and crawled underneath as he watched human feet move back and forth around him. He could see the cooked fish in front of him, on the table in front of him. All he had to do was run, jump, grab the fish and then run.

Simple.

He ran quickly, but immediately realised his mistake as a female human appeared in front of him, surprised by his sudden presence and jumping back in fright. Karupin ignored the human and the sudden questioning shouts, jumping onto the table, already snagging the fish in his mouth and dashing for the door in an instant.

**Class 1A – Cooking**

Roko blinked once, twice.

He didn't see everything, but that blur was very familiar to him, and the speed that the blur moved at was definitely familiar. He quickly decided that he saw nothing and turned back to what he was doing, pretending that nothing had happened.

_Was that Karupin just now?_

**Class 3B – Art**

"Yanagi, what was that?" Jackal asked him, still trying to piece together what had happened. Yanagi himself was unsure what he saw, because whatever it was it was gone before he could recognize what it was. But he knew it was a small furry animal.

"I believe we have found the racoon Kirihara saw" he replied calmly.


	34. Rat Tail

**'Wakame' is Japanese for 'Seaweed Head' or something along those lines.**

**And for those of you asking, no I will not have Roko choose between a music concert or the Nationals, because that's like High School Musical and HSM is the bane of my life.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

"Where's Echizen?"

Karupin's eyes quickly snapped open from his deep sleep, already scanning the area for the source of the voice. He couldn't detect it, but he sensed motion below him, and looked down from the branch of the tree.

He had selected this tree to sleep in because it was a very attractive pink colour, even when it was approaching winter, and it was the largest he had seen in the area. The branches were particularly comfortable, and Karupin stretched lazily whilst watching the humans who were apparently sitting on the ground below him.

There were a total of seven humans, and Karupin noticed that one had very bright hair and another was the one who had noticed him earlier today, the one with his eyes shut.

"I'm not sure; he said he had to pick up something"

Karupin paid the conversation of the humans no mind, lazily scanning them like they were delicate morsels on a plate, and then his eyes snapped to something.

There was a human amongst them, his hair oddly white like that of an old human. He had a rather ugly grin and he sat lazily against Karupin's own tree. But Karupin only had eyes for the thing on his head.

It was the white tail of a rodent, swishing back and forth in time with the human's own head.

_Food,_ was the only word that came to Karupin's mind.

His tail suddenly swished back and forth in excitement as he watched the rodent's tail with a predatory gleam in his eyes. He salivated suddenly at the imagination of the taste of the rodent.

And so he tucked his legs under himself, and with a second's pause, he leapt off the tree, pouncing at the unsuspecting rodent on the human's head.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall**

Roko had suspected as much, and now he knew for sure. Karupin was here, in Rikkaidai Fuzoku.

He mentally replayed the events in his mind.

_He finished his breakfast with Ryoma, and entered the hallway, reaching for his cello case and closing the clasps without looking inside._

_When he reached the music hall, he opened the clasps again, reaching into the case, into the pocket on the side and withdrawing his music piece for Yamura-sensei without actually looking into the case. He just felt around inside, grabbed his piece, pulled it out, and forgot to lock his case again._

Karupin had climbed into his cello case before he left, and now was amok in Rikkaidai. He had suspected ever since he saw the blur in his cooking class, and knew for sure when he checked his case, noticing the case was open and there was cat hair inside.

He mentally groaned. This was going to be difficult. He didn't even know whether Karupin was in the school, he might have wandered anywhere, and Roko may never be able to find him. The realisation made him panic, but he quickly calmed himself, hoping that it was untrue.

He knew that running around in the hope of finding Karupin would never work, and so he just had to hope that Karupin would find him. He remembered Kirihara mentioning a racoon in the clubroom, which was definitely Karupin, so hopefully he would return to the clubroom. He _hoped_, anyway.

He mentally sighed, deciding that he should return to the regulars for lunch.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

Roko stopped when he realised no one was here, and he frowned. He was sure that the regulars ate here, under the largest sakura tree in the school grounds every day, so something had changed, but what?

Maybe they changed location because it was cold? True, it was approaching winter and it was notably colder than before, but not to the extent that it was bothersome. Or maybe they had left early for another reason? Maybe tennis training?

In truth Roko had no clue why they weren't here, and so he just mentally sighed in defeat, turning back to the school to the cafeteria. Maybe he could get some cake.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

Karupin ran.

He ran for his life, dodging in and out of the pesky humans' feet, and with the very angry shouts of the white-haired human behind him, followed by the calling shouts of the other humans, whose tone suggested they were also chasing after him.

He had not successfully escaped with his prized rodent, and after much screaming and struggling from the white-haired human – and shouts from the other humans – Karupin had decided that he should run. It wasn't a conscious decision, but for some reason when the white-haired human had thrown him off his head, Karupin decided he needed to run. Very fast.

Which is precisely what he did, slaloming between the screaming and confused humans, which only made the task of escape more difficult for him. He could sense the white-haired human getting closer, and so he madly picked up his speed.

"Get back here you evil rodent!" he heard the white-haired human scream. Karupin only ran faster at his demand, knowing that his life probably depended on not getting captured. He noticed a door was ajar in front of him, and he made a sharp turn into it and ran into the room.

Karupin paid no attention to the room, only the conveniently opened window in front of him, right next to a conveniently placed tree. He picked up speed and made a mad jump for freedom for the window. He landed and quickly jumped again to the tree, suddenly feeling something brush against his fur in mid-air, but only barely. He landed on the branch of the tree, and steadied himself before turning back to the window to stare into the hate-filled eyes of the white-haired human.

"You little fur ball!" he roared in fury, "Get back here so I can shave you bald!"

Karupin had no idea what the human was saying, but he could get the gist by the tone of his voice. The six other humans were stood behind him, all looking at him with a degree of shock and amusement, especially from the closed-eye one. Karupin gave a loud meow of triumph, and the white-haired human seemed to stop, the anger melting from his face, much to Karupin's confusion.

"Oy, that's not a rodent, that's a cat, puri~" he said in his outlandish tongue, and turned to a human that Karupin dimly recognized, but he wasn't sure where.

"_Wakame_, you said it was a racoon"

"Well how was I supposed to know what it was, Niou-senpai?" the other human protested, and Karupin lost interest in the humans' conversation. He turned and walked to the edge of the tree branch, leaping to a lower branch and then to another, and then onto the ground in one swift movement.

"Oy, get back here!" he heard distantly, but ignored it, walking away in search of his second master. He decided he wanted to go back to his masters' domain.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Corridors**

Yagyuu was a gentleman, which meant he did not laugh at other people's misery. But there was something about the fact that a cat attacked Niou's rat tail, and how enraged he got over it that amused Yagyuu to no end, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to contain his laughter.

He coughed lowly despite himself, but thankfully no one noticed.

"I am going to skin that cat alive" Niou claimed, the anger in his face suddenly back.

"That cat. Attacked. My. Rat Tail" he spat, clenching his fists, and Yagyuu was now using all of his willpower to hold back his amusement.

"That's enough Niou" Sanada ordered, "You can chase after the cat later, we have to go to class". Niou scowled at him but nodded in acceptance, and Yagyuu thankfully felt some of the laughter he was containing drift away. Niou stormed out of the room, leaving the stunned regulars in his wake, and suddenly Marui and Kirihara burst into laughter. Yagyuu couldn't help it, and chuckled lowly into his hand.

"Yagyuu, I've never seen you laugh before" Yanagi noted, watching Yagyuu's chuckle curiously, and Yagyuu abruptly stopped.

"I have never seen you laugh either, Yanagi" he replied softly, his voice cracking _ever_ so slightly from supressed laughter. Yanagi seemed to notice this and the corners of his lips curved into a small smile.

Yagyuu quickly decided that being the gentleman that he was, it would improper to leave his best friend in the rage he was in, and so he quickly left in search of him, half because he cared for Niou and half because that smile of Yanagi's was rather creepy.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Sanada watched his team play with a growing headache. It seemed that that cat was all anyone could talk about. Yanagi had done his research, and had somehow concluded that the owner of the cat was a member of the tennis club. Apparently it was because, according to Yanagi, the first thing a lost cat does is try to find its owner by smell, and the first person who spotted it was Kirihara in the regulars clubroom, so he concluded the owner was part of the club.

Sanada honestly couldn't care less about this cat, but it was interfering with his team, which was unacceptable. Echizen seemed to be the only person who could focus, but that was probably because he couldn't engage in conversation even if he wanted to, so Sanada left it.

He was sat on a bench by the forest-area next to the tennis courts, watching the regulars play when an abrupt meow cut in. He turned sharply to the sound, and was very surprised to see the very same cat staring at him with curious eyes. Sanada froze for a moment, and the cat took that opportunity to jump onto the bench Sanada was sat on and rub his head on him.

Sanada suddenly felt extremely awkward, with the furry purring cat affectionately rubbing his head on his arm, when Sanada did not own the cat or know its owner. He wasn't sure what to do, and so he awkwardly reached for the cat with his other hand and started to pet the soft fur on its head, which the cat purred louder at and leaned into Sanada's touch. For some reason Sanada blushed, and he continued to awkwardly pet the cat.

"Oy, it's that cat!"

Sanada looked up sharply to see his team watching him with large eyes, and Yanagi moved forward immediately, the cat ignoring his presence and continuing to rub his head on Sanada's arm.

"Genichiro, you never told me you had a cat" he noted, watching the cat quizzically, and Sanada coughed into his free hand awkwardly.

"I don't" he replied curtly, and Yanagi frowned at his response.

"Then whose is it?" he wondered out loud, and Sanada couldn't help but share his thoughts.

The cat suddenly looked up sharply, which attracted the two's attention, and in an instant the cat shot away like a rocket, much to their surprise.

"Oy, you're not getting away!" Niou cried, suddenly chasing after the cat, which turned around the corner of the regular's clubhouse, Niou following behind by several seconds. Yanagi and Sanada watched for a moment longer before they turned to each other, sharing looks of confusion.

"Tarundarou…" he unconsciously muttered.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Roko was stuck between being relieved and being annoyed that he found his cat rubbing his head on Sanada so affectionately. It seemed Karupin had taken a new liking to Sanada, and Roko suddenly felt like a third wheel, even if there was no real justification behind it.

He could tell by Niou's shout that he was angry, for what reason, Roko wasn't sure, but he decided he needed to take Karupin back before anything else happened.

Unnoticed by everyone including Karupin, Roko slipped carefully towards the regular clubhouse, moving around the corner and looking back, making sure no one saw him. He then snapped his fingers once, and then disappeared around the corner. As expected, Karupin had heard with his large ears, and in an instant he was at the corner, staring up at Roko with large eyes before he jumped at him. Roko allowed him to, and quickly stuffed Karupin up his regulars jacket, not for one moment thinking he might suffocate the cat, before pretending to walk towards the water fountain nearby.

Niou appeared in front of him a moment later, and Roko hoped he didn't notice the slight bulge in his jacket.

"Oy, Echizen, did you see that cat?" he demanded, and Roko put on his best fake frown before shaking his head. Niou scowled before running off in search of Karupin, and when Niou was gone, Roko unzipped the top of his jacket, allowing Karupin's head to pop out, and Roko couldn't help but mentally 'awww' at how cute he looked with his head sticking out of his jacket.

"Ahem"

Roko froze, and then slowly turned to face every one of the regulars, all looking at him with either a scowl or an amused smirk. Karupin was of no help, meowing loudly at the sight of them, particularly Sanada.

"So this is your cat, Echizen" Yanagi stated, and Roko nodded once in defeat. Yanagi pursed his lips.

"Ah, that explains why he likes Genichiro so much" he noted, and Roko raised an eyebrow, as did the rest of the team.

"What do you mean, Yanagi?" Marui asked, popping his apple bubble-gum loudly.

"Remember how I said that cats look for their owners by smell?" Yanagi asked, and the team nodded confusedly.

"Well" Yanagi continued, "Since Genichiro spends a lot of time with Echizen, it's fair to say he picked up some of Echizen's scent, yes?" he asked, and the entire team's eyes widened in realisation, and they all looked at Karupin in shock.

"So since Sanada spends so much time with Echizen, the cat decided it liked him?" Jackal asked from the background, and Yanagi nodded.

"So it seems"

Roko, for one, was rather shocked himself. It seemed Karupin was pretty smart after all, but not smart enough to distinguish Sanada's scent from his, which made him scowl in annoyance.

"Ne, Echizen, what's its name?" Kirihara asked, stepping forward, and Roko spelt out Karupin's name with his hands, adding something on the end.

"Karupin" Sanada translated, "And he's a boy". The team nodded and smiled softly at the cat.

"That's a cute name" Marui added, and Karupin meowed loudly as a sort of thanks.

"Echizen" Sanada said bluntly, his voice sounding annoyed, and the cute atmosphere suddenly evaporated, "You can leave practice early, just get rid of that cat". Roko didn't hesitate to nod, and then made signs with his hands.

"_Can you take care of him while I gather my things?"_ his hands asked, and the team frowned, whilst Sanada scowled in annoyance.

"Fine" he stated, and Roko handed Karupin back to him, who meowed loudly in approval and rubbed his head on Sanada's arms again, much to the team's amusement and Sanada's embarrassment.

_Betrayer_, Roko thought acidly as he left his team to ogle over his cat.


	35. Roko's Hot Date

**This chapter sucks. Forgive me.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall**

Roko mentally sighed in relief as he finished his solo cello piece for the concert, resting his aching fingers. It never really occurred to him until a few days ago that he would be playing the entire concert, so he would perform 11 pieces including his solo. Aside from his solo he only had to add background notes and occasionally strum the strings, so there was no real challenge in learning the ten, extremely repetitive pieces, but his solo was a challenge. He'd composed it himself, like he always did, but after the ten pieces his fingers felt like they were going to drop off and he tried not to wince at how much his fingers burned by the end.

There was a small, slow clap, and Roko looked up to Yamura-sensei who was sat before the stage with a huge grin on her face as she continued to clap.

"Brilliant, Echizen. Your piece is wonderful, you'll do wonderful in the concert" she stated positively, and Roko nodded in thanks before picking up his cello carefully and leaving the stage. Rehearsals were over so the other music club members were already backstage packing up their instruments, so they didn't hear Roko's solo at all, which was good in his opinion. It meant that he would attract less attention for now.

He put his cello back into its case on the ground and picked up his bag, taking out his phone. He noticed he had a message, and quickly opened it.

_**Do you want to meet at the usual place for some noodles after school?**_

_**From: Tachibana Ann**_

Ah yes, Roko forgot he had her number. He'd developed a pretty good relationship with Fudomine, talking to them every time he saw them when he went to watch Ryoma play. He didn't remember when exactly he got her number, but it had happened. He liked the team, they were mostly nice, especially the captain, and didn't ask any kind of annoying personal questions that Seigaku did. In fact, he was pretty sure that was all Seigaku said to him, except the chirpy leader of Ryoma's fan club and her friend, who thought it best not to intrude on Roko's life.

_**I'll be late, since I have to take the train back to Tokyo first**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko put his phone down and closed the clasps on his cello case, carrying it back to the music hall to collect later. It was lunch time, which meant the regulars would be waiting for him under the largest sakura tree. He smiled, putting his bag on his back.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

_**Eh? You don't live in Tokyo?**_

_**From: Tachibana Ann**_

Oh yeah, Roko had never mentioned what school he was from, and looking back on it he distantly wondered why they never asked themselves. He mentally sighed and replied quickly, still walking towards the sakura tree.

_**I do, but I go to a school in a different district**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

His phone chimed almost an instant later.

_**Ok then, I'll meet you there then**_

_**From: Tachibana Ann**_

Roko smiled softly, he liked that about Fudomine, they never pressed for questions, Ann especially, which is why they were far better than Seigaku in his opinion.

And then his phone disappeared from his hand, and Marui was suddenly next to him looking at his phone with curious intensity. He scanned the name once and then turned to Roko. Roko moved like a blur, suddenly enraged at the kidnap of his precious phone.

"Echizen, who's-" he stopped and yelped in surprise at how quick Roko snatched his phone back, and quickly pocketed it with a scowl. Roko noticed the rest of the team was sat by the tree sharing surprised looks, and Roko rolled his eyes and moved to sit down, and sat next to Niou, Marui plopping down on his other side, and he leaned closer to Roko.

"Ne, Echizen, who's Ann-chan?" he asked curiously, and the rest of the team frowned, while Roko's forehead twitched in annoyance.

"Who are you talking about, Bunta?" Jackal asked, and Marui's smile grew.

"When I snatched Echizen's phone I got a glance of the name, I saw 'Ann' but I didn't get her last name" he explained, and Roko mentally groaned at how the eyes of Kirihara, Yanagi and Niou suddenly shone with mischief that he recognized.

"Oh, Echizen has a girlfriend?" Niou asked teasingly, and Roko shook his head in response. As if almost on cue his phone chimed again, and the entire team smirked, and Roko scowled, digging out his phone.

_**By the way, it won't be a date**_

_**From: Tachibana Ann**_

Roko's eyebrow promptly disappeared into his hair, and the team seemed to notice this, and Niou leaned forward, reading the message quickly.

"He's going on a date" he stated, his voice filled with amusement, and Roko glared daggers at him, and fortunately Niou had already suffered enough times at his hand to back off, but the rest of the team had already heard. Yagyuu and Sanada seemed to not care, but the rest of the team – even Jackal – were grinning like cats.

"Eh!?" Kirihara cried, "Echizen's going on a date!?" Before Roko could shake his head Jackal leaned forward, his caretaker complex visible on his face.

"Echizen, you're way too young to be going on dates" he said, much to Roko's annoyance, "Don't you think you're rushing things?"

"Jackal!" Marui scolded, "Don't put him off his hot date!"

Roko could feel himself twitch, and Sanada thankfully noticed this.

"Leave him alone" he stated once, and the entire team turned to him incredulously, except for Roko, who quickly replied to Ann's text while no one was looking.

_**I know. And thanks for that, my friends now think I'm going on a date**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

"But Sanada!" Marui cried, "Our kouhai's going on a hot date! We _have_ to know what's going on!" he protested, and Roko was suddenly thankful that he was meeting Ann in Tokyo rather than Kanagawa, where his team could potentially follow him. He shuddered at the thought.

"Marui's right, you know" Yanagi added calmly, much to Sanada's confusion, "If our kouhai is indeed going on a date, the least we can do is chaperone him" Roko may have imagined it, but there was the _tiniest_ grin on Yanagi's lips as they made eye-contact, and he glared daggers at Yanagi, whose face did not falter, probably due to his years of experience with Sanada.

"He's right, Sanada" Niou added with a large grin, "Our kouhai will need all the support he can get" Niou wrapped his arm around Echizen protectively for emphasis, and Roko just glared at the arm like he was going to bite it off, and Niou quickly got the idea and moved it away.

He tried to ignore their conversation, and Roko opened his bag and dug out his bento box, opening it and quickly digging into the food.

"Ne, Echizen, where are you going with Ann-chan?" Marui asked, and Roko didn't make eye contact or change his expression, continuing to eat his food like he hadn't heard him. Marui frowned and leaned forward.

"Oi, Echizen, don't ignore me" he demanded, and Roko continued to ignore him.

And then his phone chimed again.

Suddenly the team were grinning like cats again, and Roko irritably retrieved his phone, looking at the new message.

_**Oops! Sorry about that, but I wanted to make it clear. If it makes you feel any better my brother would think the same if I told him about it. Sorry :(**_

_**From: Tachibana Ann**_

_No, that doesn't make me feel remotely better_, Roko thought irritably as he put his phone back. So he basically got the shorter straw, wonderful.

"Echizen!" Marui whined, "What are you saying to Ann-chan?" Roko mentally sighed and made signs to Sanada.

"_Can you get rid of them?"_ his hands asked, and Sanada frowned before holding up his hands and replying in signs. They'd decided a while ago that any conversations they'd have around the team would be in sign language so they could discuss important issues any time without the team intruding.

"_How could I get rid of them?"_ his hands replied, and Roko scowled before making more signs. The team were all narrowing their eyes in confusion, and Marui looked very irritated at their secret conversation.

"Oy, don't exclude us from your conversation!" he demanded, but was ignored.

"_Because you're the tennis club captain"_ his hands replied bluntly.

"_Solve your own problems, it's not my fault you have a date"_ Sanada replied, and Roko glared at him. Sanada was an annoying character, since when they were alone he was rather soft and approachable, but when around the team, even if no one could understand them, he was still back in his stoic captain personality.

"_You could at least make them run laps"_ he replied.

"_I could, except we're not in tennis practice"_ Roko scowled irritably and turned back to his food, continuing to eat it like nothing had happened.

"Sanada, what were you saying?" Yanagi asked curiously. Roko looked up and glared at Sanada, daring him to say a single word, mostly because he was now irritated with him. Sanada seemed to get the point and didn't respond, eating his own food like Yanagi hadn't said a word, and the team frowned.

"Oh come on!" Marui whined again, "At least tell us something!". Sanada looked up irritably, and Roko could see he had decided something.

"We were talking about how many laps you will run in tennis practice, and we agreed on 100" he stated annoyed, and Marui's eyes widened in shock while the rest of the team smirked, effectively ending the conversation.

**Streets of Kanagawa**

Following Echizen was far more of a challenge than it appeared to be. For starters, four people following him all at once was a challenge in itself, since all four of them moving fast enough to dodge Echizen's glance was very risky. Secondly, the fact that Echizen apparently had a very fast walking pace, probably walking to the rhythm of the music that was blasting out of him earphones, and so it was difficult to keep up whilst being subtle at the same time.

Finally, the fact that they all had no idea where Echizen was going. They didn't know where he lived or where he was meeting this 'Ann-chan', so no one could say how long they would be following him for.

They followed him for about five minutes before they noticed that Echizen was heading to the train station, and Yanagi frowned curiously.

"Echizen takes the train to school?" he wondered out loud.

"Wonder why he does that" Marui mumbled next to him, and the conversation ended. They all proceeded the casually walk into the station, blending into the crowd the best they could. Yanagi's face faltered as he noticed Echizen was standing in front of a ticket booth, tapping the screen and inserting money into it, and Yanagi realised he'd forgotten one important detail.

"Ah, it seems we have to pay if we want to follow him" he muttered, and the other three scowled.

"And how do we know which train he's going on? Puri~" Niou asked. Yanagi frowned.

"Doesn't Echizen's brother go to Seigaku in Tokyo?" Kirihara added helpfully, and the other three looked at him completely shocked, and Kirihara frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing" Yanagi replied quickly, not interested in getting into an argument whilst tailing their kouhai.

They quickly paid for a ticket to Tokyo station each, finding the next train would arrive in ten minutes, selecting that one and quickly receiving the tickets. They then proceeded to the platform, for a moment forgetting Echizen was standing a few feet away from them before they all quickly dove for cover, except for Yanagi, who was far too stoic to _dive_ for cover, and so he moved like a blur instead.

The train quickly arrived afterwards, and they waited for Echizen to step onto the train before they entered a different part of the train, and sat down on the seats with open excitement.

"This'll be great" Marui claimed, "We get to see Echizen's hot date". The others nodded in agreement, and Yanagi could only smile at the delicious data he would collect.

**Streets of Tokyo**

Ann was waiting patiently for Echizen to arrive, glad that she'd managed to play off the excuse to her brother that she was going shopping. In truth she had organized this because she just wanted someone to talk to aside from the team, since she knew she spent way too much time with them. She didn't want to say anything important, she just wanted some change.

She was sat at the window seat of the noodle bar playing with her phone when Echizen arrived, and Ann looked up surprised, since she expected him to be much earlier.

"Echizen" she called softly and Echizen nodded once in acknowledgement, taking the seat in front of her and depositing his bag on the floor next to his chair. He just looked at her for a while, waiting for her to start, and Ann smiled softly despite herself.

"I asked you to come here to talk, just because I wanted to be away from the team, you know?" she asked, realising how awkward she sounded, but Echizen nodded like he perfectly understood.

"So you do understand?" she asked, to be certain, and Echizen made signs.

"_I get sick of my friends a lot"_ his hands replied, and Ann smiled widely.

"The ones who think we're on a date?" she asked, and Echizen nodded grimly.

_Why does he seem so horrified by the idea?_ She thought irritably, but quickly pushed the thought out of her head.

"_Thankfully they don't know I live in Tokyo, so they won't have followed me"_ his hands replied, and Ann chuckled at that.

"That's good, it would be awkward if they followed us" she replied.

And about twenty feet away, the four sneezed in unison, and looked at each other curiously.

"It seems someone is talking about us" Yanagi noted, and Niou shrugged, looking back through his binoculars again at the two freshmen in the noodle bar.


	36. More Stalking

**You guys have no idea how long it took me to write this. I got bored half-way through, and so I ended up scrolling through tumblr for an hour, and then I watched Pokemon Origins, and then I read some fanfiction before coming back to this. So yeah this chapter may be kinda lukewarm in your opinion (can you tell I'm very self-critical?), but if you pay attention to the dialogue and you're a PoT nerd like me you will see a wonderful plot point on the horizon.**

**Also I would like to say in advance: after Pokemon X and Y release on the 12th Oct you will see almost no chapters from me for at least a week**

**Just saying**

**Tokyo Shopping Mall**

Roko wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up here. It started at the noodle bar where he and Ann talked about general things, life stuff, anything worth talking about, and Ann had then dragged him around the streets for a while for some company, and now they were here.

He didn't really care that he was at the mall, but rather that he was at the mall with Ann. If anyone else looked at the situation they would definitely call it a date, and that was sadly what it looked like. Roko mentally sighed, keeping pace with Ann who was striding ahead in her apparent excitement. Well, there could be worse people to be seen at the mall with, so at least that was something, despite how it didn't reassure him at all. But at least he wasn't carrying around his cello case, since carrying that all around the mall would be a nightmare. When Ann had invited him out he'd decided he would leave the cello at school, since he figured it would be easier. He knew he had a concert coming up, but he would just practice twice as hard tomorrow.

Roko noticed Ann had stopped and was staring into a shop window, and Roko turned to the direction she was looking, seeing a colourful pet store with people bustling around, and in an instant Ann was in the store, and Roko had no choice but to follow.

The store was pretty nice on the inside; it was lined with shelves filled with pet food, toys and essentials. Roko quickly scanned the crowd and noticed Ann standing in front of a small pen, and he moved toward her. He noticed that there were two fluffy white rabbits inside, both sitting on the ground and generally doing nothing, but Ann looked smitten by the inanimate rabbits.

"They're so cute" she chirped excitedly with large eyes and Roko smiled softly at the rabbits. He wasn't much of an animal person – excluding Karupin - but he still thought that small fluffy animals were cute. The rabbits seemed to notice they were being watched and one of them hopped slowly and uncertainly to Roko, looking up at him and sniffing the air as if it was trying to sniff danger from him or something. Roko just raised an eyebrow at the small rabbit, and the rabbit seemed to think he was fine and proceeded closer to him.

"Aw, that's so cute" Ann said, suddenly appearing next to him. The rabbit sat on its hind legs and looked up at him with large eyes, and Ann gave another squeak of adoration, whilst Roko rolled his eyes.

It proceeded like this for a while, they'd pass a pen for an animal, and Ann would squeak and coo at them, and Roko would just watch her half-amusedly. Ann was definitely an animal person, since there wasn't one animal in the store she didn't label as cute.

Roko figured if he was going to follow Ann around, he might as well buy some groceries, so he bought some food and a new fluffy toy for Karupin, since he knew Karupin adored fluffy things for some reason, and some milk and teabags at the supermarket. Ann didn't seem to mind, buying her own things whilst they were there, and they were just about to leave when Roko noticed a certain store that immediately attracted his attention.

"Echizen?" he heard Ann ask, but Roko kept staring at the sign, wondering if he should walk in. It was a music store with a glowing neon sign on the front, and posters in the windows of the latest rock bands and artists, none of the boring mainstream pop artists that Roko despised so much. Roko suddenly felt excited, he had a lot of music on his iPod, but that didn't mean he didn't have a CD collection to rival his iPod library. Ann seemed to notice what he was staring at and poked him on the shoulder to get his attention.

"You can go in if you want" she offered kindly, and Roko was already in the store before Ann had finished the sentence. It was a large place, lined with racks of the latest and oldest CDs from multiple music genres. Roko didn't bother checking to see if Ann was following him, and he quickly proceeded to the Rock section of the store, quickly scanning the albums. Most of the albums were in Japanese, but there was also a small English section of music that Roko scanned and smiled widely when he realised his favourite bands' CDs were on sale, and ones he didn't already have.

"Heh? You must really like music, Echizen" Ann stated. Roko had no idea when she appeared next to him, but he was too excited to care, and just nodded his head, suddenly understanding how Ann felt in that pet store. He quickly picked up several CDs and moved to the counter to pay for them, smiling excitedly the entire time.

**Tokyo Shopping Mall**

"Aw, they already look like a married couple" Marui stated happily as he watched the two buying groceries together in the supermarket. The three smiled and nodded in agreement, and Marui continued to mentally cackle at how well their kouhai's date was going, he certainly knew how to play his cards right.

He had to give Echizen credit, even though he couldn't talk, he was still doing everything right, with just an appropriate nod or shake of the head when needed. The girl he was with was pretty good looking, for a first-year, and Marui smirked despite himself. He had never really gotten over his want to know about Echizen ever since he took his iPod, and this was a very rare opportunity to know about him.

It had never occurred to the four until they arrived in Tokyo that they wouldn't be able to understand Echizen. They heard Ann's replies, but it was difficult to guess what Echizen was saying from her chuckles and short returns. Marui had never thought about that one detail, but Echizen often just replied with a change of expression or a nod of the head, so it wasn't a major setback anyway.

The four moved to follow the couple when they left the supermarket, and they were going in the direction of the door. Marui frowned, as he realised this would be the point where they break off and go their separate ways, and he didn't want that, he was enjoying watching them way too much.

"Echizen has stopped" Yanagi suddenly said, and Marui looked up to notice that Echizen _had_ stopped, and was staring at the sign for the music store with an excited glimmer in his eye. Ann noticed he'd stopped and said something to him, and in an instant he was in the store, and the four blinked at how fast he moved.

"Echizen must really like music" Kirihara muttered to no one in particular. The other three nodded in agreement and carefully walked into the music store, but thankfully the two's backs were to them so they could move to the other aisles and blend in.

"What's he doing?" Marui asked, looking in the other direction trying to appear inconspicuous.

"He's just looking at CDs" Niou replied, holding a random CD in his hands and scanning it, also trying to appear inconspicuous. They watched the brief interaction the two had before Echizen quickly paid for his CDs and then they left, and the four again followed them.

They reached the doors of the mall, and Ann said something to Echizen quickly with a wide smile on her face, before nodding and walking off in the opposite direction. Echizen just smiled and walked away, and Marui frowned.

"What?" Marui demanded, "That's it? No making out or anything?"

"They are twelve, Marui" Yanagi replied calmly.

"Well, Echizen could be thirteen" Kirihara reasoned, and there was a slight pause.

"When _is_ Echizen's birthday anyway?" Marui wondered out loud.

"Not sure" Yanagi replied, "I'll look into it"

The conversation ended there, and the four decided it was time to leave and return to Kanagawa. Marui folded his arms behind his head as he walked and sighed loudly.

"Mou, that wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be" he muttered.

"I did say they were twelve, Marui" Yanagi repeated, and Marui sighed loudly as they turned a corner.

"Yeah but I at lea-" Marui stopped as he noticed that Echizen wasn't gone like he expected, but he was kneeling on the ground tying his shoelace with his back to them just ten feet away from them. The four promptly froze, and Echizen's head turned to the sound of Marui's voice, and Marui, Yanagi and Niou dived back to the corner and out of Echizen's view. Kirihara, however, did not move quickly enough, and froze under Echizen's gaze. Marui watched the events unfold from behind the corner of the street, afraid to peek at Echizen in case he got caught.

Kirihara began to pale.

"Uh… Echizen" he began lamely, staring at the freshman who Marui couldn't see from the corner, and there was a long period of silence.

"We have to go" Niou whispered sharply to Marui and Yanagi, and they turned their heads curiously.

"Why?" Marui asked. He stopped when he noticed the horror in Niou's eyes, the absolute terror in them, and Marui swore he could see the horrors Niou had suffered from the freshman in his eyes. Without replying Niou grabbed them both and ran away, dragging them both with him, leaving Kirihara behind to suffer Echizen's wrath.

Actually, when Marui did a double take, he realised Kirihara was no longer standing where he was. He just hoped that he wasn't being murdered by Echizen in an alleyway or something.

**Echizen Household**

Ryoma heard the door open, and Karupin jumped off his lap and walked to the doorway to investigate, mewing loudly when Roko appeared with several bags.

"Where've you been?" Ryoma asked curiously, and Roko just shrugged, blocking the question and moving into the kitchen. Ryoma frowned and followed him in, and he watched Roko take a carton of milk from the bag and place it in the fridge, followed by some teabags which he placed on the counter, some cat food and then a fluffy toy. Karupin had followed them and meowed loudly at the sight of it, and Roko smiled widely, tossing the toy at Karupin who leapt and caught it in mid-air, already running off with his prize. Ryoma smirked at his cat as he sped away, and turned back to Roko who was taking a teabag out of the box.

"How can you drink that stuff?" he asked disgustedly, moving to the fridge and taking out a can of ponta. Roko didn't respond with signs, but instead gave a rather pointed glance to the can of ponta Ryoma was holding. Ryoma scowled in response.

"At least this tastes of something" he returned, and Roko just shrugged again, filling the kettle with water and flicking the button on it, heating it up. Ryoma opened his can and sipped it, not breaking eye-contact with Roko as he did.

"You never told me where you went" he pointed out, and Roko just smiled mischeviously. Ryoma sighed, realising that Roko wasn't going to let up easily, but then again he rarely did.

"So it's a secret then" he stated bluntly, and Roko shook his head in response to his statement.

"So you can tell me then" Ryoma pressed, but Roko just shrugged like he always did, but Ryoma did not stop there.

"And why won't you tell me?" he pressed further, and he could see the mental sigh in Roko's eyes, and he responded with signs.

"_I went to the mall and got some CDs and some other things while I was there"_ his hands stated, and Ryoma frowned.

"And why didn't you just say that?" he asked annoyed, and Roko just shook his head in a scolding way that a parent does with a child, before turning back to the kettle and pouring the boiling water into a ceramic cup, dropping a teabag in and stirring it with a spoon. Ryoma just sighed, dropping the conversation and moving back into the living room. He threw himself onto the sofa and sipped his ponta, Roko entering a while later.

"So" Ryoma began as Roko sat down next to him, "How's school? You never tell me about Rikkaidai"

"_You never tell me about Seigaku either"_ his hands replied, and Ryoma scowled.

"Can you at least talk to me about school?" he asked annoyed, and Roko rolled his eyes at him, causing Ryoma to frown. Inwardly Ryoma wanted to know how school was going for Roko since he was mute, and they had always gone to the same school together. He didn't like them going to separate schools, and especially so when Roko came home several weeks ago covered in bruises, and a particularly nasty one on his head. Ryoma remembered how long he spent demanding to know who had done that to him, along with their parents, and Roko just shook his head and continued on like they hadn't said anything. It irritated Ryoma to no end, because he wanted to know how Roko was doing and whether he was fine with school, and yet he just wouldn't give anything away.

"_I have my concert in two days"_ Roko replied after a while, and Ryoma mentally smiled.

"Oh?" he replied, "And are you looking forward to it?"

"_I'm going to be performing in front of the entire school, alone"_ his hands stated bluntly, and Ryoma blinked.

"You're nervous" he stated surprised. Roko was never nervous about anything, since he always had that 'I don't care' attitude about him, so this was a real change. Roko's lips tightened and he sipped his tea, and Ryoma frowned at him.

"Oi, don't ignore me" he stated bluntly, and Roko turned to him.

"You're never nervous. Ever" he said, and Roko frowned.

"_This is different. I'm performing a piece I composed by myself in front of the entire school, who all think I have a disease"_ his hands said, and Ryoma blinked.

"So you're saying you're nervous because the people you'll be performing for think you're a freak?" he asked, and Roko didn't respond, and just sipped his tea, but Ryoma could see the clear response in that one action.

"Why do you care?" he asked, and Roko put down his tea again, and Ryoma could see the slight anger in his eye.

"_Because they hate me and I have to stand up in front of every single one of them" _Ryoma blinked again surprised.

"They don't hate you, Roko" he protested, and he stopped when Roko's expression changed. He was recalling a bad memory, Ryoma could tell, by the way his face melted into a frown and he looked into his tea as if it somehow held answers.

"_Yes they do. You wouldn't know" _he replied with signs, and then promptly stood up and left the room before Ryoma could reply. Ryoma just stared at the space where he was before throwing his arms behind his head in exasperation and groaned loudly.

_What is up with him?_ He wondered.

**Possible lukewarm chapter? Let me know**


	37. Concert Nerves and Birthdays

**Update - Ok so I tried to make fan art of Roko for my cover image, but it kind of failed horribly, so if there's any artist/drawer people out there, I would love you forever if you made art of Roko. PM me if you will :D**

**Ok so I've noticed that a lot of people have been saying that my story doesn't fit the plot of PoT. Well, yes it does, considering Rikkaidai get no screen time at all until the late Regionals, so I can basically do as I please until then, as long as there's the occasional piece of info that correlates to the story line.**

**Also there is a seriously worrying lack of tennis, as I have noticed, so I will try to make tennis a thing again.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Library**

Roko sat alone in the library eating his slice of cake slowly and without enthusiasm. Normally he would be here tutoring Sanada, but he had to leave for student council matters, so Roko had nothing to do, but at this time he was glad for the peace.

The concert will be tomorrow and his nerves were getting worse.

Roko didn't even realise how nervous he was about it until he was walking home after meeting up with Ann. Sure, Kirihara had followed him, but Roko was too mentally conflicted at that moment to care, despite how Kirihara begged for mercy on his knees. Roko just shrugged and walked away, leaving Kirihara to wallow on the ground. Under most circumstances he probably would have killed him for spying on Roko, but it wasn't a date so he didn't really care if he was spying, and he was too worried about the concert to kill him.

He had been practicing his piece all morning, and despite how he got it perfect every time he still felt like it was awful. Yamura-sensei praised him constantly for it, but Roko felt the praise was false and unnecessary, so he just nodded his head at her praise now.

Roko had never been nervous before, so this was different for him. He had never really experienced nerves before because he always had the reassuring presence of his brother next to him, but now he was gone, and the school hated him. He didn't like being nervous, it felt like his gut was folding in on itself like a crumpled piece of paper, and he couldn't even muster the appetite to finish his cake. He mentally sighed loudly and pushed the half-eaten cake away.

_You never leave a slice of cake_, his consciousness noted, and Roko scowled.

_This is different_, he replied.

_Is it?_

_Yes it is. I'm performing alone in front of the entire school, who all hate me._

_And?_

Roko stopped, practically spluttering at the question.

_What do you mean 'and?'_

_You've never cared about people's opinions, what makes this different?_

_I have to stand up in front of all of them_

_Ah, I see, you're afraid of being alone_

Roko frowned at his consciousness' statement.

_You've always had Ryoma next to you_, his consciousness explained, _and now he's gone, so you've lost that person to back you up and protect you. But now you have Sanada, don't you? He acts just like Ryoma would, protecting and defending you from harm, like an older brother. You've always had someone looking after you, you've never been alone, and for the first time ever you're going to be on your own. You're not afraid of going on that stage at all, you're just afraid of doing it by yourself._

Roko did not respond for a long time.

_You know I'm right, so you might as well just accept it_

_Fine then. I am afraid of doing this myself, so what?_

_Didn't Jackal say something important?_

_Why do you treat Jackal's words like they're law?_

_Because he gives good advice_

_So you want me to talk about it with them?_

_Exactly_

_No, I won't burden them with my problems_

His consciousness sighed loudly.

_You're not burdening them, they care about you, you know_

_I'll deal with my problems myself_

_And yet you're afraid of being alone. How contradicting_

Roko didn't have a response to that.

_Talk to them. Get your problems off your chest, _his consciousness ordered, and Roko mentally sighed. He stood up from his chair and left the library with his bag, leaving the cake behind. Since it was a free period he could go practice his piece again.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

Sanada ate his food with little interest with the team. It was nearing the end of the school term, and in two days the school would officially break up for the winter holidays, which meant they had two more days to train and eat together.

He didn't really care much for the winter holidays; his family were strict Japanese so they never celebrated Christmas like the other regulars, so the winter holidays were a waste of time in Sanada's opinion, since he never had anything to do during that time. He would practice tennis relentlessly but snow would soon start falling, and when it did it would be stupid to practice tennis outdoors. But he had other problems.

For whatever reason Echizen wasn't with the regulars today and Sanada was concerned, because the last time this happened Echizen had been attacked by the school. The rest of the regulars didn't seem to notice this, chatting animatedly amongst themselves, whilst Sanada stared at nothing in the hopes Echizen would appear soon and wasn't being attacked by Yukimura's fan club.

Sanada heard Yanagi clear his throat, and all the regulars turned to him.

"What is it, Yanagi?" he asked bluntly.

"Well" Yanagi began, "Since Echizen isn't here I thought I we could discuss something important". The team blinked and looked around, noticing for the first time that Echizen wasn't here.

"Where is he?" Jackal asked tightly, worry visible on his face.

"Don't worry" Yanagi stated, "No one will harm him; he's probably doing something important". No one looked convinced but Yanagi continued.

"Marui asked me yesterday when Echizen's birthday was" he stated, and the team blinked in unison.

"And?" Sanada asked, annoyed.

"I have confirmed that his birthday is during the winter holidays, on December 31st"

There was a rather shocked period of silence before Kirihara spoke up.

"S-seriously?" he asked, "That's only two weeks away!". Yanagi nodded once.

"Exactly"

"We need to do something for him" Marui stated, and Yanagi nodded again.

"But there's a problem" he added, and the team frowned.

"We know that Echizen lives in Tokyo, but we have no idea where his house is, or what his address is. The trains don't run on New Year's Eve, and if I'm right snow will start falling before that, so it's fair to say that trains will be cancelled days before" Yanagi stated, and the team frowned further, understanding the problem.

"So what can we do?" Marui asked hesitantly, and Yanagi sighed.

"I'm not sure" he admitted, "But firstly we need to buy him gifts". Kirihara frowned.

"But we don't know that much about him" he said carefully, and Yanagi shook his head.

"Not everyone" he stated, and he turned his head to Sanada, and the team followed suit. Sanada kept his stoic expression in place, mentally sighing underneath. He had somehow guessed it would come to this, and while he probably knew more about Echizen that anyone else on the team, that didn't mean he wasn't an enigma to him either.

"I know Echizen well" he stated, "But that doesn't mean he isn't a mystery". The team collectively frowned, and Yanagi spoke up again.

"We know he likes cake, music and drinking tea, but beyond that we know quite little" he stated.

"So we need to find out more about him in the space of two days" Yagyuu stated from his spot in the tree's shadow. Yanagi nodded his head.

"Precisely". Marui stood abruptly, and the team looked to him.

"Well in that case we need to find him first, don't we?" he asked no one in particular, and before anyone could respond Marui was gone in search of Echizen. Sanada sighed loudly, not moving from his spot. He had already decided what he'd get Echizen.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Jackal watched Echizen with a curious intensity, whilst trying to appear subtle, which he quickly realised, was impossible. In truth he had no clue what to get him, as did the rest of the team. He imagined Yanagi and Sanada had an idea, but the others were hopeless.

He'd hoped if he watched him for long enough he might pick up something that would be helpful, maybe give him an idea, but he saw nothing. He sighed loudly and stood up from the bench, proceeding to the courts to play some practice matches against Marui, who was bouncing on the other side in apparent excitement.

"Ne, Jackal" Marui called to him, and Jackal looked up at Marui confusedly. He only smiled mischievously and pointed at something, and Jackal turned to where Marui was pointing to see Echizen tying his laces on the bench. He frowned, and turned back to his doubles partner. Marui rolled his eyes and pointed to his own shoes, and Jackal's eyes widened, and he turned back to Echizen.

His tennis shoes did look pretty worn down, and Jackal turned back to Marui, mouthing 'thank you', before moving to serve.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Marui had noticed Echizen's worn tennis shoes a while ago, but he scrapped the idea, since he already knew what he was going to get Echizen. Cake obviously, a huge cake. Marui knew what kind of cake Echizen preferred the most, he liked fruit fillings and white, vanilla icing, preferably a sponge cake, so that was exactly what Marui would get him. He had a lot of skill with baking cakes since he spent just as much time making cakes as eating them, so he was pretty sure he could pull it off.

He pointed out Echizen's shoes to Jackal, who seemed thrilled at the idea, and he mouthed a 'thank you' to him, causing Marui to smirk. He wondered what the rest of the team would get their little kouhai. Yanagi definitely had an idea. Marui didn't have any evidence to back that up, but he _was _the data master. He knew everything about a person, as creepy as that sounded. Sanada probably had an idea, since he knew Echizen the best, but then again, who knew what they talked about when they were alone? They could be no different in private, or Echizen might openly talk with Sanada.

Others like Niou and Kirihara, who spent less time around Echizen probably didn't have a clue. Yagyuu, he wasn't too sure, since Yagyuu didn't spend that much more time with Echizen than Niou and Kirihara, but then again who knew what went on in his mind?

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Niou had no clue. Plain and simple. The only time he'd really spent with Echizen was when he was beating him to near-death, and that had happened twice now, so Niou's first idea was to get him murder weapons. As useful as he'd probably find them, Niou quickly decided that giving a freshman - who had a grudge against him - knives would probably be a bad idea. Niou didn't really consider it a grudge, but more like an on-and-off dislike. A love-hate relationship.

So now he was back to square one with nothing. He tried to think about any sort of time he'd seen Echizen do something other than tennis or try to kill him, but sadly there was nothing, and Niou realised how little he knew about him. It wasn't a surprise really, being mute, but it was still inexcusable in his opinion.

"Niou"

Niou turned to the voice, finding Yagyuu standing next to him and looking at him in a blunt fashion.

"If you want to get Echizen a good gift, might I suggest new earphones?" he offered, and Niou frowned, not bothering to ask how he knew that Niou was wondering what to get him.

"No, that's boring. I want something different, but the music thing is a good idea" he stated, and Yagyuu frowned.

"What bands does he like?" Yagyuu asked, and Niou frowned, trying to recall the music store when they spied on Echizen's date. He remembered that Echizen picked up several CDs, all of them in English, and he looked ecstatic about listening to them. One of them had a weird man-bird thing on the front in black and white, and he remembered seeing the same album cover when he stole Echizen's iPod.

_B…_ Niou frowned, trying to recall the name.

_Break…_

_Break…er?_

Niou sighed loudly, unable to recall the name. It was an English name too, which only made the task harder. He looked back to Yagyuu.

"I know what it looks like, so I can look it up tonight" he said to Yagyuu, and Yagyuu frowned.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"The album cover for the CD that Echizen bought on his date" Niou explained, and Yagyuu's face turned into a harsh stare.

"You followed him on his date?" he asked testily, and Niou immediately realised he'd said too much, and quickly walked away before Yagyuu could say more.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Yagyuu watched his doubles partner hastily walk away, and he sighed loudly. He supposed it was a good thing that Niou spied on him, or he'd have no idea what to get Echizen, since that seemed to have sparked an idea. Yagyuu himself had various ideas, but nothing particularly extravagant or exciting, rather just plain boring. He was a gentleman, and good gentlemen do not walk up to people and harass them about what they like, but that was sadly what Yagyuu was considering.

The only time he could say he had really had contact with Echizen was during his match against him during the ranking tournament. Other than that they had had conversations with a paper and pen from time to time, but about general things, nothing personal or important. He mentally sighed loudly, following his doubles partner to the court to play against him. Sanada was overseeing the matches with that harsh stare of his, Marui was playing Jackal and Echizen was playing Yanagi, with Kirihara running laps around the courts.

Yagyuu decided that he would think about it later; maybe have a conversation with Echizen. After all, he was bound to think of something eventually.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Yanagi was the data master. He was the one with all the statistics and all the answers to your problems.

When it came to tennis, of course.

However, when it came to his kouhai's interests and aspirations, he had as much of an idea as the next person. It was honestly shameful to admit to himself that he didn't know what to do. He reassured himself by saying that it wasn't needed for two weeks, but if he didn't find a good present for Echizen in the next two days he would never see him again and get the opportunity.

Yanagi was more concerned with how they would pull off Echizen's birthday celebration. He had ideas, plenty of ideas, but with the massive hurdle of Echizen living over fifty miles away, and the oncoming snow to stop the trains, there seemed to be almost no alternative. Unless Echizen magically appeared in Kanagawa for whatever reason, he didn't have a single valid idea. It was frustrating to realise that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't think of a way around it. He was the data master, and yet when it came to anything outside of tennis he couldn't say he was certain at all.

He sighed loudly, rallying against Echizen, trying to see something in him that would be useful. But he saw nothing, and it frustrated him.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Kirihara liked Echizen, he had decided. He didn't know why Echizen had spared him a horrific death after they spied on his date, but he did, and so Kirihara had decided that Echizen was a nice person. That didn't mean though that he had a decent idea. He knew that Echizen liked cake, but Marui definitely had that covered, so that was useless. He knew he liked music, but what could he buy that Echizen didn't already have? He knew he liked tennis, but what could he really buy that would have thought behind it?

So he was basically stumped, and tried his best to process ideas whilst running laps at the same time. It wasn't an easy task, but Sanada was too busy overseeing the practice matches to yell at him for being too slow.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

_**Echizen's birthday is December 31**__**st**__**. I hope you have a good idea.**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Yukimura smiled softly at the message. Renji didn't need to add anymore, because Yukimura already knew what he meant. Echizen was indeed a strange one, and it was difficult to understand what he truly liked, so most of the team were likely stumped on what to buy him. Sanada probably had an idea, and Yukimura could tell from the message that Renji did not. It made him smile to know that the data master didn't know something; it was a change at least.

But on the topic of Echizen's gift, Yukimura didn't really know. He, of all the team (if he was still technically part of the team) had spent the least time with Echizen out of anyone. He knew he liked music, and he knew he liked peace and quiet where he could find it, but that was pretty much it. Tennis was also a rather obvious one, and Yukimura instantly crossed that off his mental list.

What to do, what to do… Echizen was definitely an odd one, and Yukimura had no clue what to get him.

As if summoned by his thoughts, his phone chimed again, and Yukimura read the message.

_**They're all staring at me weirdly; did you order them to watch over me again, Buchou?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Yukimura chuckled softly at Echizen's message, and he decided to send a message to Renji.

_**Renji, Echizen's on to you, try to be more subtle**_

_**From: Yukimura Seiichi**_

Yukimura put his phone down and stared at the ceiling for a while, he wasn't sure for how long, but his phone chimed again, and he picked it up.

_**Thank you, Buchou**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Yukimura chuckled again. Echizen was definitely an interesting character.


	38. Concert Solo

**Echizen Household**

Ryoma was unsurprised to find Roko downstairs dressed and eating his breakfast already. It was the day of his concert and Ryoma could tell he was nervous, since he spent more time than usual practicing his cello and he had almost no appetite yesterday, even when he was offered cake.

When Roko turns down a slice of cake, you know things just got serious.

Ryoma opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly Nanjiroh appeared next to him, already striding into the kitchen and taking a bowl and cereal box out of the cupboard.

"Oi, _seishounen_, it's your birthday next week" he claimed, and Ryoma frowned, completely forgetting about that. Roko didn't even look up to acknowledge them, too interested in his food.

"Do you think your friends will do something for ya?" he asked, grabbing the milk out of the fridge.

"Not sure" Ryoma replied honestly, "They probably don't even know when it is". Nanjiroh poured the milk into the cereal bowl and stirred it with his spoon.

"What about you, Roko?" he asked, looking up to him, "Do your team know when your birthday is?". Roko shrugged unknowingly in response, and Nanjiroh smiled widely.

"Well make sure they know, since you would get a bunch of more gifts" he claimed, before leaving the room with his cereal. Ryoma rolled his eyes and moved to the kitchen to make some toast. Though they were twins and shared the same birthday, Nanjiroh had made a weird tradition where they weren't allowed to celebrate their birthday together. According to him a birthday should be your special day, and sharing it with someone else ruins it. Their real birthday was December 24th, but Ryoma celebrated his birthday on the actual day, whilst Roko celebrated his a week later on December 31st. Roko didn't seem to mind it, and Ryoma knew it was because he wasn't a huge fan of parties anyway.

"Ne, Roko" Ryoma called, while he was waiting for the bread to pop out of the toaster. Roko looked up from his empty cereal bowl, and Ryoma could tell he was tired.

"You're letting this get to you too much" he stated bluntly, and Roko frowned, tightening his lips and standing up from his seat, picking up his bowl and placing it next to the sink.

"It's just a three minute piece" he pointed out, "You're not going to be sat there forever". Roko's attitude didn't change, and Ryoma just sighed loudly. Roko wouldn't change his mind, so he supposed he'd just have to wait until it was over to cheer him up.

Their mother appeared around the corner, dressed in a wool jacket and long, thick trousers, and Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were at work" he stated, and his mother frowned.

"The buses have stopped because of all the snow, so it's my day-off today" she explained, and Ryoma frowned, remembering the thick layer of white he saw from his window. He liked snow, it was fun to play in, but it was also annoying since you couldn't play tennis outside in that weather. His mother took a step forward, and smiled softly at the Ryoma and Roko.

"Good luck in your concert, Roko" she said with a smile, and Roko nodded his head in acknowledgement, and Ryoma could tell that he did not want to be reminded of it. Ryoma sighed as his toast popped up, and he took it and quickly buttered it while Roko left the room and went back upstairs. Since he was up early he didn't need to leave for twenty minutes, so he'd probably listen to some music until then.

Ryoma sighed again, eating his toast with little enthusiasm. He hoped Roko would feel better after the concert was over.

**Tokyo Train Station**

Roko had seriously considered texting Sanada telling him he couldn't make it to school because the trains were all cancelled, but he knew that if he didn't get the concert out of the way it would haunt him. He sat on the benches in the station, listening to his rock music with his cello case next to him, considering his father's words.

"_Do your team know when your birthday is?_"

Did they? Roko had no clue. While it did explain the stares he'd received yesterday, it didn't mean that it was true. If they did know, Roko would have to wonder how they knew, and whether they thought it was the 24th or 31st of December. He didn't want them celebrating his birthday when it was supposed to be Ryoma's day. The family tradition they had was a really odd one, and Roko could think of many reasons why it was a stupid tradition, but at the same time he agreed that a birthday should be something that is about you and no one else, despite how much Roko would prefer if the attention was split between him and Ryoma. Roko didn't really mind that Ryoma was celebrating his birthday on his actual birthday, because in his mind-set, as long as he got gifts and cake, he didn't care what day it was. The cake was more important though.

He glanced up at the hanging electric sign, saying that the train to Kanagawa would arrive at 7:50. It was now 7:56. Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, digging out his phone, sending a message to Sanada.

_**The train to Kanagawa is delayed, I don't know how late I will be**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

He put his phone down and stared up at the ceiling. He distantly hoped the train had got stuck in the snow or something so he didn't have to turn up, but he knew he couldn't just avoid his problems either. It was an annoying realisation, but Roko grudgingly decided that he had to deal with it.

The train arrived eventually, and Roko glanced at his watch and practically hissed at the time. It was 8:25, he'd be late by 35 minutes. He hated being late and so this only dampened his already grim mood further. He stepped onto the train quickly with his cello case and bag, and quickly took a seat. The train would take twenty minutes to get to Kanagawa, and then it would take five minutes to get to school, so he'd arrive at 8:50, when tennis practice starts at 8:15.

He scowled in annoyance, trying to let the music in his ears calm him down, but to no avail.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall**

Sanada tried to not sigh loudly as he took his place in the main hall with the other third-years, since the hall was divided by year. Rather than go to tennis practice last period, they had to come here to watch the Music Club perform their concert. It was a pointless waste of time, since in his opinion tennis was far more enjoyable. If it were at any other time of the day Sanada would have accepted it, but since it overlapped with his tennis practice, he was decidedly annoyed.

It also didn't help that he hadn't seen Echizen all day. He'd received his message that he was going to be late, but he missed the whole of tennis practice this morning, which did not help at all, since the other regulars decided to use this time to discuss ideas for what to buy to Echizen's birthday. Sanada had tried to get them to return to practice, but even while they were playing they were discussing ideas, and so Sanada just gave up and let them do as they pleased. Sanada had decided a while ago what he would get Echizen, since he knew the freshman very well, and so he had not involved himself in the conversation.

The principal and a tall brunette woman, who Sanada assumed was the coach of the Music Club, stepped onto the stage and did a brief announcement that he paid little attention to, before the large curtain behind them opened, and the Music Club were in their seats, and they began their first piece. Sanada was actually rather impressed with how good they were, since it sounded like a proper classical orchestra, but the annoyance in his gut did not go away.

"Ugh" he heard Marui groan next to him, who folded his arms behind his head, "This is so boring".

"Bunta!" Jackal scolded quietly next to him, and Sanada mentally sighed. The first piece ended, and everyone clapped mechanically, and Sanada's scowl deepened as they started their second piece.

"What's wrong, Genichiro?" Yanagi asked, who was sat next to him, and Sanada grunted.

"There are better things we could be doing than watching the Music Club perform" he stated, and Marui nodded in agreement. Yanagi paused for a moment.

"So you haven't noticed yet" he noted, and Sanada frowned and turned to him.

"I have noticed" Yagyuu claimed, who was next to Yanagi.

"Me too, puri~" Niou added from behind Yagyuu.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Marui asked curiously, and Yanagi turned back to the stage.

"Look at the back-right corner of the stage, the person playing the cello" he ordered, and Sanada, Marui and Jackal all turned to the corner, scanning the stage for the cello. Sanada noticed it, and his eyes widened when he realised who exactly was playing it.

"Echizen!?" Jackal asked shocked, and Yanagi nodded.

"It seems Echizen is a part of the Music Club" he stated.

"Seriously?" Marui asked exasperated, "How could we not know that?"

"Well" Yanagi began, "He probably carries that cello to and from school every day. Echizen takes the train, so we don't see him walk to school, since he is always the last to arrive to tennis practice. The train station is located in the city where there is little housing, so none of us ever walk home in the same direction as him, so it's fair to say that we have not once seen Echzien walk to or from school. If we did, we probably would have seen the cello case"

Sanada watched Echizen for a long time, frowning at this new piece of information.

_Why did you never tell me about this?_

'Because you never asked' was the obvious reply, and Sanada scowled. He thought he knew Echizen quite well, but this sudden change of events made Sanada realise that actually he did not know Echizen that well after all.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall**

Roko felt his mind wander off as he mechanically played the repetitive background notes of the first ten pieces, his fingers aching. He didn't really know how long he was playing for, or what was going on around him, but he just let his consciousness drift away with the melodic sounds around him.

He distantly wondered what the regulars thought; since Roko knew that they didn't know he was part of the Music Club. They probably wouldn't care that much, Marui may ask questions, but overall they wouldn't care. It made him mentally smirk to imagine their shocked faces, and that gave him a sort of uplift from his growing nerves.

Though at the same time he was dreading his solo, which was growing nearer and nearer. The music practically felt like a countdown to his final piece for the school, but in all honesty it felt like a countdown to his own death. He knew that he was over exaggerating things, but he just couldn't calm down no matter what he tried to do.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that Roko didn't even notice that the tenth piece was nearly over and suddenly his heart was in his throat. He was actually rather amazed at how he'd managed to play every piece successfully while not really paying attention at all, but he supposed the pieces were so repetitive he could do it in his sleep.

The tenth piece ended, and the audience clapped again, though Roko felt the praise was unnecessary. As practiced the curtain fell back over the stage, and Yamura-sensei moved towards it and slipped through to address the audience. The rest of the Music Club picked up their chairs and carried them away, whispering 'good luck' to him as they walked past. Roko mentally sighed in exasperation, putting down his bow and cello, picking up his chair and moving it to the centre of the stage, quickly moving back and picking the objects up again and taking his seat. There was a stand placed in front of him already, and Roko unfolded his own composed piece from his pocket and placed it on the stand.

"And now for our final piece of the afternoon" Yamura-sensei began at the opposite side of the curtain, and Roko had the sudden urge to run.

_Get it over with_, his consciousness ordered, and he mentally sighed in exasperation.

"Our soloist for this concert will be a student with a lot of talent and potential, who I believe will go very far in the world of music" she stated, and Roko mentally shuddered.

_Don't look up, look at your piece and at nothing else_

"So without further ado, our soloist for this concert will be Echizen Roko" she finished, and Roko tried not to flinch at how there was barely an applause in the audience, the rest of them probably too shocked, only making it worse for him. The curtain opened slowly, and Roko focused on his piece suddenly like it was the centre of the universe. Yamura-sensei moved to the piano at the side of the stage and played a slow melody to accompany the piece, and after the introduction Roko placed the bow on the strings and began to play, forgetting about everything in the world except the paper before him and the music in his ears.

He imagined the looks of shock the third-years had, the looks of amazement from the regulars, and everything else in between, and mentally exhaled as he played, banishing all thoughts from his mind.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Main Hall**

"So without further ado, our soloist for this concert will be Echizen Roko"

Sanada was stunned, as were the rest of the regulars and most of the hall. He suddenly felt guilt wrack his guts as he noticed how miniscule the applause was, and the curtain opened, revealing Echizen sat alone on the stage with his cello and a piece of paper on the stand in front of him.

What was it that woman said? A student with a lot of talent and potential? Echizen?

Sanada suddenly felt like he was looking at a completely different person. Was Echizen really that good? Had he been part of the Music Club this whole time and no one ever knew? He couldn't understand why, but in that moment he felt so guilty for not knowing, even when he wasn't to blame.

The coach of the Music Club moved to the piano on the stage and began a slow melodic introduction to the piece. Sanada noticed that Marui had dug out his phone and was holding it up to record, but he said nothing.

Echizen placed the bow on the strings and began a series of long, powerful notes that accompanied the piano perfectly. As the piece continued the notes got shorter and louder, and there was not a single pause, with constant changes in the tone and pitch that amazed Sanada. Had Echizen always been this good?

Echizen did not pause for a moment, continuing on with dramatic changes in depth and sound, his hands moving like a blur throughout the whole thing. He somehow looked completely different to the Echizen that Sanada knew, this was a loud, powerful Echizen who did not stop or pause for a moment, the music he played conveying thoughts and feelings Sanada couldn't begin to understand.

It went on for a while, and Sanada somehow felt enrapt in the music, and when the piece finally finished there was a rather shocked silence before a deafening round of applause, and even from the back of the hall Sanada could see Echizen exhale heavily, picking up his cello, bow and paper and walking off the stage.

"Impressive" he heard Yanagi say next to him, and Sanada could only grunt in agreement.

After the concert ended the team decided that they all wanted to talk to Echizen, and so they regrouped with Kirihara in the second-year section of the hall and moved to the stage. The whole way there Kirihara raved about how great Echizen was, and no one disagreed.

They found the coach of the Music Club standing by the curtain watching her club pack up their instruments, and she noticed them and moved towards them.

"May I help you?" she asked. Sanada nodded his head in response.

"We wanted to speak to Echizen" he replied, and the woman smiled.

"Ah, so you must be the Tennis Club regulars" she stated, and Sanada nodded.

"How long has Echizen been a member of the Music Club for?" Yanagi asked, stepping towards her.

"About three or four weeks" she replied casually, and the team spluttered.

"Eh!?" Kirihara cried, "You mean he got that good in four weeks?"

"That's right" she responded calmly, "He's very talented with the cello". The team all paused for a moment.

"I didn't think that Echizen would play a cello" Marui stated after a while, "It doesn't suit him very well". The coach turned to Marui.

"Really?" she asked, "I think it suits him perfectly".

"How so?" Yanagi asked with a raised eyebrow. The coach smiled softly.

"I don't need to know Echizen very well to know he's got a lot bottled up inside of him" she began, and Sanada frowned. Yes, he knew what she meant, remembering his match against Yakuta Ippei.

"I can tell that Echizen wants to speak, he wants to voice his own opinions and say what he wants to. The cello is a large instrument that produces loud, resounding notes, and I think it's perfect for Echizen for that reason. Echizen cannot speak, so he communicates with people through music". She paused.

"Did you know that Echizen never uses pieces from other musicians? He always composes his own. He has a natural talent for it" she stated, and the team stared at her wide-eyed.

"I think Echizen does this so he can personalize his message to people through his music. His music is always loud, powerful, never pausing and always changing. I think Echizen does this because he wants to say exactly what's on his mind, and he does this through the music he composes. He wants all the attention on him when he speaks, and he does not hesitate in what he says. That's why his music is resounding, loud and does not stop. And what better instrument for that kind of music than the cello?"

Sanada didn't know what to say. Everything that the Music Club coach said made perfect sense to him, and once again it felt like they weren't even discussing Echizen anymore. It felt like this entire time he'd never really knew Echizen, and he felt that familiar wracking of his guts again.

At that moment Echizen appeared around the corner with his cello case on his back, and before anyone could say a word Marui moved like a blur, diving straight at him with his arms open.

"Echizzeeennn~" he called as he flew through the air. Sanada's eyes widened as he imagined Marui embracing him in a romantic scene of some sort, or maybe Marui would crush him under his weight.

But rather than Marui hugging Echizen tightly, Echizen quickly took a step to the right, and Marui sailed past him and face planted the ground.

"Bunta!" Jackal called in exasperation, already at his doubles partner's side, helping him up. Echizen looked at the sprawled out Marui with a raised eyebrow, before turning to Sanada confusedly.

"_What was that about?_"his hands asked, and Sanada smirked despite himself.

"Nothing"


	39. Echizen vs Sanada

**I'm going to sleep now. That's all. If there are typos I'm too tired to correct them, so I'll do it tomorrow.**

**Also tennis is a thing again, so be happy.**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

It was the final day before the schools broke up for the winter holidays, and Roko and the team were getting changed to go to the indoor courts since there was a thick layer of snow covering the outdoor courts. Even when it was the final day Sanada refused to allow his team to slack off, and if anything he was determined to work harder because it was the last day, but they would return in three weeks so it wasn't that much of a big deal anyway. That didn't mean that the other regulars weren't excited to leave.

"Echizen" he heard Kirihara say as he pulled on his tennis shirt, and he turned to him questioningly.

"We're going out to eat when the day's over. Want to come with us?" he offered, and Roko raised an eyebrow. He'd been part of the team for around three months and he'd never once been invited anywhere, but he figured that was because he lived in Tokyo. He noticed that most of the team were watching him interestedly, probably hoping that he would say yes. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head in response, and Kirihara smiled widely.

"Great!" he responded happily, and Roko did not miss the happy looks from Marui, Jackal and Niou as they turned back to what they were doing. He smiled softly and moved through the clubroom towards the door that lead to the indoor courts.

"We'll meet by the tree!" Kirihara called excitedly, and Roko turned to him with a half-smile and nod of his head, before proceeding into the indoor courts.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Courts**

Sanada watched Echizen run his laps alongside the other regulars. He knew that the entire team was looking forward to leaving so they could talk to Echizen and maybe learn more about him, since after his performance yesterday they all came to the conclusion that they still knew nothing about him. It was also due to the fact that Echizen's birthday was soon, and Sanada didn't need to ask to know that half of the team, if not all of them, were stumped on what to get him, and so this would be the perfect opportunity to find something good for him.

But right now they were in the middle of tennis practice, and even with the winter holidays around the corner they could not afford to slack off. He mentally sighed in annoyance as the team finished their laps, and moved to Sanada for further instruction.

"We'll play practice matches, and I want no holding back" he stated firmly, and the team nodded.

"Niou and Yanagi on Court 1, Marui and Yagyuu on Court 2, Jackal and Kirihara on Court 3. I will play Echizen on Court 4" he stated, and he noticed how the team looked at him incredulously. He wasn't surprised really, since he had never played Echizen before, but he decided that he needed to know his full potential, and the best time to do that was now.

The players quickly moved onto the courts, Sanada and Echizen moving to the net of Court 4, and Echizen held up his racket with a questioning look.

"Smooth" Sanada stated. Echizen nodded and spun the racket on the ground, the racket landing on the rough side. He nodded to himself once and moved to the baseline to serve. Echizen bounced the ball rhythmically on the ground, before throwing it up into the air, and Sanada recognized the Bait Serve. Echizen jumped into the air after it and hit it in mid-air, and Sanada positioned himself as he watched the ball spin on the ground in front of him and then fly up into the air. He leapt into the air and smashed downwards with all his power, and in an instant Echizen was there, swinging his racket for a low Rising Shot. The ball made contact, and Echizen's racket flew out of his hand immediately.

"15-0!"

"Your Bait Serve won't work on me" Sanada stated when Echizen had picked up his racket. Echizen narrowed his eyes at Sanada and he returned to the baseline, repeating the same action of the Bait Serve. Sanada watched the ball climb up in the air, and he jumped and smashed down again. Echizen swung low for a Rising Shot, and the racket flew out of his hand again.

"30-0!"

_What does he think he's doing?_ Sanada wondered, as Echizen returned to the baseline to serve again. He bounced the ball and repeated the Bait Serve again.

"That serve will not work on me!" Sanada exclaimed again as the ball flew across the net. It spun on the ground, and rather than bouncing upwards like Sanada expected, it bounced low and shot right through his legs. He stopped and his eyes widened as he turned to watch the ball slowly roll back towards him.

"30-15!"

_He changed the angle of the Bait Serve_ he realised, and then grunted to himself and returned to his positon. Echizen repeated the Bait Serve again, and Sanada prepared himself to counter the low bounce. But he immediately realised how awkward it was to swing the ball low and at the right angle with the ball right in front of him, and he completely missed it, the ball sailing through his legs again.

"30-all!"

Sanada scowled in annoyance as Echizen served again, and once again he missed the low Bait Serve.

"30-40!"

Sanada was now gritting his teeth in anger as Echizen served again. The ball spun on the ground before him, and Sanada successfully managed to counter it, but rather awkwardly, and he ended up returning with a slow shot that barely went over the net.

Echizen was there in an instant, and he tapped the ball with his racket, dropping the ball with a dull thud into his court like it was nothing.

"Game Echizen! 1-0!"

Sanada fumed silently as Echizen moved silently back to his side of the court as if nothing had happened. He managed to win a game from him so easily? Unacceptable! It was his turn to serve now, and Sanada would make sure Echizen would know defeat. Without bouncing the ball he threw it into the air and slammed it, sending the ball hurtling to Echizen's court. Echizen returned with a straight shot to Sanada's left corner, which he moved to and returned easily to the centre. Echizen was already there, and he sent the ball to Sanada's right corner this time.

_He's trying to wear me down_, he noticed, and he scowled. He was The Emperor of Rikkaidai. He would not be defeated so easily! Sanada sent the ball hurtling back with all his power and it flew past Echizen and slammed on the ground with an audible thud.

"15-0!"

Echizen stopped and narrowed his eyes at Sanada, before glancing at the mark left on the ground from Sanada's powerful return and he nodded to himself before returning to the baseline to prepare for Sanada's serve, much to Sanada's annoyance.

_Don't think that you will take another game from me so easily_, he thought, as he threw the ball into the air and served powerfully.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Courts**

"Game, Sanada! 4-2!"

Sanada was a tough opponent. Roko knew that, since he was The Emperor of Rikkaidai, and he had not once lost an official match. But you couldn't really appreciate how tough he actually was until you played him. Roko was breathing heavily, sweat starting to form on his forehead, whilst Sanada was perfectly fine, not breathing differently at all.

Roko had underestimated him at first, but now he understood that Sanada was holding back. He hadn't seen a single technique from him, and he knew that sooner or later Sanada would stop holding back and go all-out. Preparing for this, Roko had not used the Lightning Bolt once and tried to reserve his stamina as much as possible by putting the least amount of steps into reaching the ball, but those efforts felt insignificant. If it wasn't for the fact Sanada wasn't able to return his low Bait Serve right, Roko probably would have lost by now. So basically when Sanada was serving Roko had no chance, but that didn't necessarily mean he had a chance when he served himself.

He mentally sighed and moved to the baseline for his serve. He bounced the ball in his left hand, deciding the abandon the Bait Serve, since if he used it anymore Sanada would get used to it and return it easily. He couldn't use the regular Bait Serve either, or the Lob Trap, so the only technique he could really use was the Lightning Bolt. He couldn't drop balls into the court easily because his Bait Serve and Lob Trap were sealed, and Sanada had made a habit of lobbing when Roko moved to the net.

He threw the ball into the air and served normally, noticing that half of the tennis club was watching now, including the regulars.

"Such a weak serve will not beat me!" Sanada roared as he returned the ball at a frightening speed. Roko frowned, considering his options, he could return it normally and not use the technique he had in reserve, or he could use it.

_It's not an official match, so there's no point_

_Why not?_ His consciousness argued, _This is Sanada you're playing against. Don't hold back._

Roko quickly decided, and reached the ball, applying the necessary rotation of the ball by slightly sliding it on his racket before returning it, and moving to the centre of the court quickly. He noticed that Sanada had frowned at his sudden movement, and he sent the ball straight at the corner, but Roko did not move and simply watched as the ball curved towards him.

_Samurai Zone_

The ball curved towards him, and he heard gasps from the crowd watching, but Roko paid them no heed, allowing the ball to slightly slide down his racket again before returning. Sanada didn't move quickly enough and didn't return it.

"0-15!"

Sanada looked up at Roko, suddenly furious, and Roko frowned in confusion.

"When did you learn the Tezuka Zone!?" he demanded, and Roko raised an eyebrow. The Tezuka Zone? What was that? Wasn't Tezuka the Seigaku captain?

_It's his special technique_, his consciousness cut in, and Roko frowned, remembering a similar technique in Seigaku's game against Hyotei. That was right, Tezuka had taken the Samurai Zone, created by Nanjiroh, and made it his own technique. Sanada was probably confused at the fact he could use his rival's special technique, and Roko just decided to shrug in feigned unknowingness, which Sanada scowled at, and Roko returned to the baseline.

Roko threw the ball into the air and served normally, and Sanada returned it powerfully to the centre. Roko reached the ball, again applying the necessary spin on his racket and sending it back to Sanada's court. Sanada returned it immediately to the corner, and the ball once again curved and flew towards Roko. He applied the rotation and returned it easily to Sanada's right corner, and he returned it heavily. The ball curved to him again, and Roko sent it to the opposite corner without much effort.

"0-30!"

Roko looked back to Sanada, who was now staring at him analytically rather than fuming silently, and Roko decided that he wasn't going to hold back anymore. He could somehow tell from his predatory expression that he'd made up his mind. Roko quickly decided that the Samurai Zone wasn't going to be much of a help from now on and he mentally sighed at the thought of so quickly abandoning Nanjiroh's special technique. He'd taught him and Ryoma it when they were rather young, and whilst Roko kept it a secret until he needed it, Ryoma didn't bother using it at all, since it didn't really fit him as a person.

Roko served normally again, and he could immediately see that something about Sanada had changed. He returned it quickly, and Roko moved to the corner to return it, and looked up to Sanada, and could see his stance was different.

He held his racket like he a sword, and like he was drawing one, he invisibly sliced the ball with his racket, sending it hurtling past Roko so fast he barely reacted. He didn't even see Sanada move his racket.

"Swift, like the Wind" he said formally, and Roko blinked.

_What?_

"15-30!"

Roko frowned, whatever he had just said was probably important. Sanada wasn't one for meaningless talk, and Roko mentally filed the quote for later use.

He served, Sanada returned, and Roko returned again. Sanada lowered his stance, and Roko narrowed his eyes. Sanada swung his racket low and clipped the ball, all the speed and rotation on the ball suddenly dropping and the ball flew back slowly towards the net.

"Quiet, like the Forest" he said, and Roko ignored it, moving to the net to quickly return the drop shot, and Sanada returned the ball in an instant, sending it behind Roko before he could reach it.

"30-all!"

Roko frowned. He'd said something different this time, and whatever it was it was bothering him. Would Sanada say some weird quote after every shot he did?

Roko served, Sanada returned, and Roko caught the ball as it sped to the corner, applying the rotation of the Samurai Zone to the ball before moving to the centre. Sanada also moved to the centre of the court, much to Roko's surprise. He reached for the ball and sent it toward the corner, and it simply curved toward Roko, and he returned it easily. The bail sailed to the corner, but Sanada with his long arms reached it and sent it back to the corner, though it just curved to Roko again.

_He hasn't moved from his spot_, Roko realised quickly. Every shot he sent to the corners Sanada reached and returned without moving his left leg out of place, his body rooted in that firm position.

"Immovable, like a Mountain" he stated, and Roko frowned. More of those strange quotes. He returned the ball as it curved towards him again, and rather than reaching for it Sanada stepped in front of the ball and held the racket like a sword about to be drawn. Roko immediately realised what was about happen and he stepped back. Sanada's arm moved like a blur, and the extremely fast-spinning ball flew towards Roko.

"Swift, like the Wind"

Roko barely managed to return such a fast shot, and sent it awkwardly back to the corner of Sanada's court, but he was there, and he returned it quickly before Roko could recover.

"40-30!"

Roko was breathing heavier now. He never imagined that Sanada was this good. Those techniques were pushing him back, and Roko had not managed to get a point past him since.

"_Swift, like the Wind"_

"_Quiet, like the Forest"_

"_Immovable, like a Mountain"_

An extremely-fast invisible slice that accelerated quickly, a drop shot that removed all rotation from the ball and a formation that allowed the player to return any shot without moving from the centre of the court. Sanada was definitely impressive, and Roko understood why he was The Emperor. To have this level of technique was crazy, and Roko frowned. Was he seriously thinking that he couldn't win? No way. He wouldn't consider losing for a moment, because it wasn't over yet.

He returned to the baseline to serve, and considered his options. He could use the Lightning Bolt as a last resort, but a last resort was meant to be used when in desperation, and Roko could still take this game back. He could use the Bait Serve, but Sanada could return it with a smash.

_Don't you remember?_ His consciousness asked, and Roko frowned.

_What?_

_You watched all of Seigaku's games in the District Tournament, you can't think of one way to counter a smash more effectively?_

Roko's eye widened in realisation, remembering exactly what his consciousness meant. It was risky, but since he was using everything he had he might as well try it.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Indoor Tennis Courts**

Sanada frowned as he watched Echizen stare at nothing for a moment. Was he considering surrendering? He might be, considering there was no way he could defeat his FuuRinKaZan, but Sanada doubted Echizen would give up so easily, after all, he hadn't even used the full technique yet.

Echizen seemed to nod to himself, deciding something, and Sanada frowned as Echizen moved to serve. Whatever he did would be useless.

To his surprise Echizen threw the ball into the air and jumped after it, indicating the Bait Serve. Sanada scowled in disappointment, and prepared himself to counter the Bait Serve that would bounce through his legs. But rather than going through his legs, the ball flew straight upwards like normal. He frowned confusedly.

"I told you that won't work on me!" he roared, jumping up to smash the ball. He sent it hurtling to the ground, and Echizen moved so fast Sanada didn't see him move as he dropped to the ground, but he recognized the stance. He was on one knee, leaning forward with his arms spread outwards like wings, the stance of Higuma Otoshi.

He heard the dull thud of a ball behind him, and he turned shocked to see the ball sitting on the baseline behind him.

"Deuce!"

There was a shocked silence, and then whispers broke out, and Sanada could see the regulars were stunned.

"What was that technique?"

"I have no idea"

"How did he return Sanada-fukubuchou's smash!?"

Sanada scowled lowly, once again contemplating how much he knew about Echizen. It seemed every time he thought he knew all about him Echizen would turn around with a new secret or technique and prove him wrong. It was extremely irritating, and Sanada had to wonder how many other secret techniques he knew.

Echizen served again, and Sanada practically growled at how the ball flew up into the air again. He jumped to smash, and this time he saw how Echizen's body sharply rotated, the centripetal force absorbing the power of the shot, and he caught the ball with his right hand and flicked his arm, sending the ball flying back. Sanada watched the ball climb over him, and he quickly moved to the baseline and sent the ball back before it could bounce.

But then Echizen was at the net, and he dropped the ball into his court. Sanada practically snarled in frustration, forgetting how Echizen would always drop shots from the back of the opponent's court.

"Advantage, Echizen!"

Sanada scowled. It was time to end this, and he would no longer back down. Echizen served, Sanada returned, and Echizen returned again, sending the ball to the centre. Sanada was there in an instant, and he held his racket high above his head, before throwing all of his weight forward and slicing down on the ball, balancing on one foot. The ball accelerated immediately, and flew back to Echizen's court, crossing him before he could return it.

"Deuce!"

"Invade like Fire" he stated firmly, finally showing his full FuuRinKaZan.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku School Grounds**

Yanagi Renji leaned against the largest sakura tree with the rest of the team as they waited for Echizen to appear. His loss against Genichiro had been a dramatic one, since he fought to the end, but Genichiro still won with 6-2. Yanagi was honestly surprised that Echizen held out against the FuuRinKaZan, even if it wasn't for very long. Echizen was already exhausted before-hand, and Sanada unleashing his secret technique now had sealed his fate.

Although, the fact that Echizen could use the Tezuka Zone and Higuma Otoshi was very interesting. Yanagi had not once seen Echizen use either of those techniques, and he came to the conclusion that Echizen wasn't the type to use his best techniques immediately. He preferred to let his opponents think they knew everything about him, and then he would come back with a hidden surprise than ensured his victory.

Actually, when Yanagi thought about it, it seemed that Echizen's tennis style was rather like his life. The thought made him smirk amusedly. Yanagi was the data master of Rikkaidai, and so he knew everything about people, but every time he assured himself he knew everything about Echizen, he'd appear with another piece of secret information that had Yanagi seething for not seeing it before.

"C'mon Echizen" Kirihara muttered, "Hurry up…"

"He's been gone for two minutes Kirihara" Yagyuu replied calmly, "Give him time". Yanagi mentally rolled his eyes at how Yagyuu was too polite to say that Kirihara was just plain impatient.

"There he is" Marui said, and everyone turned to see Echizen approach with a large brown leather cello case on his back. Yanagi raised an eyebrow. How on Earth could he carry that to school and back? He had to reassess his data later. Echizen moved to them quickly, and Kirihara and Marui smiled excitedly.

"Let's go eat!" Marui said happily, leading the team out of the school grounds and into central Kanagawa on their last day of school.


	40. Questions and Ramen

**This chapter is average.**

**Streets of Kanagawa**

Aside from walking from the train station to school and back, Roko had never really explored Kanagawa at all, so it came as a surprise when he realised just how close Rikkaidai was to the beach. It was only a few minutes' walk, and the coastline looked beautiful even when it was the middle of winter. The streets were lined with stores and cafes that had a nice view of the beach, but there was no one really around aside from him and the regulars. Roko didn't really know where they were going, but he hoped it had Japanese food, since he was really craving some right now.

"Echizen, how can you carry that thing all day?" Kirihara asked curiously, and Roko looked to him with a raised eyebrow and made signs.

"You get used to the weight" Sanada translated, and Kirihara frowned.

"Yeah but, that thing is as tall as you" he protested, and Roko just rolled his eyes at him. In truth his cello wasn't really that heavy at all, either because it was designed to be lighter or Sanada's monstrous tennis training programme had paid off, but Roko wasn't sure.

"By the way Echizen" he heard Marui say, and he turned to him, who was blowing a bubble of apple gum, "When did you learn the Tezuka Zone and Higuma Otoshi?" he asked, and Roko didn't fail to notice how everyone was watching him now, and he smirked and made signs. He could see Sanada's eyes widen and he hesitated, much to Roko's amusement.

"The Tezuka Zone is a copy from the original Samurai Zone developed by my father" Sanada translated, and Marui's eyes widened.

"So your dad taught you that?" he asked. Roko just nodded his head in response.

"And what about the Higuma Otoshi?" Yanagi asked curiously, and Roko smiled. In truth he had no idea whether he'd be able to pull it off just from watching, and he was amazed at how he successfully used the Higuma Otoshi, when he just expected to do some sort of embarrassingly awkward movement. He would mention to them about how he'd watched every one of Seigaku's Distrcit Tournament games, but somehow he felt like maybe he shouldn't mention that detail, and it was their own fault for never asking where he went, though they probably assumed he was going home.

Yanagi leaned forward in curiosity, and Roko just smiled and shook his head at him, to which Yanagi frowned.

"Ah, there it is!" Marui said cheerfully, and Roko looked up to see they were walking towards a large building made entirely out of wood in the traditional Japanese style, and it had a large sign on the front that read 'Kuwahara Ramen Shop'

So this was Jackal's family restaurant. Interesting, but more importantly it served Japanese food, and Roko forced down the large smile that was threatening to appear. They quickly entered through the front door, and Roko immediately noticed that the place was empty, not surprising considering it was mid-winter. The room was a traditional Japanese style with small tapestries on the wall, with long rectangular wooden tables and long benches on either side of them, and a counter with benches along the front, where the chef would make the ramen.

A moment later a tall man with dark skin who looked very similar to Jackal appeared around the corner, wearing an apron over a white shirt and black trousers.

"Ah you're here" he stated with a large smile, and the team collectively nodded and proceeded to the benches in front of the counter, and Roko followed suit, placing his cello case by the door. He sat down between Sanada and Niou, and put his bag down, and Jackal's father moved to the counter and noticed him.

"I've never seen you before" he stated, "So you must be Echizen". Roko nodded in response, and Jackal's father smiled widely.

"It's nice to meet you" he said, before looking up to the rest of the team. Roko could tell that he knew he was mute, which was good, since it spared him the awkward moment when someone realises he's mute.

"What will you guys have?" Jackal's father asked. Everyone placed their orders, and Roko noticed that Sanada was looking at him expectantly. He couldn't help but smile at the tiny gesture in that, and he made signs to Sanada who translated his order. Jackal's father went to work making the ramen, and almost immediately there was a delicious scent filling the room. Roko smiled widely involuntarily.

"Heh, I've never seen you smile before, Echizen" Kirihara suddenly said from down the counter, and Roko turned to him with a raised eyebrow. It was clear from the looks of most of the team that they too had never seen him smile, and Roko for some reason felt offended.

"I've seen him smile" Marui stated from behind Kirihara, "When I offered him cake". The entire team rolled their eyes, and Roko smiled amusedly at the memory of the free cake Marui gave him after he had a panic attack from Kirihara's Bloodshot Mode. He immediately erased the image from his mind and instead turned back to the counter to watch Jackal's dad make the ramen. It was nice to be here with the team, and the presence of them, especially Sanada made him feel more comfortable.

_He's like my older brother_, Roko thought amusedly.

Jackal's father finished making the noodles, and placed a large bowl of colourful ramen in front of him and a cup of green tea. Roko smiled widely, already eating the ramen before the others could receive their own food, and he could see Sanada frown but he said nothing. Roko smiled widely when he realised how good it tasted, and started to eat it faster, but not too fast that he would give himself indigestion.

"Echizen appears to enjoy Japanese food" Yanagi said in the background, but Roko ignored him, continuing to eat, and the others soon got their own ramen and started to eat too. Jackal's father smiled widely at the sight of them eating the ramen, and he walked away from the counter into the back room, but Roko paid him no mind, continually inhaling the delicious ramen.

**Kuwahara Ramen Shop**

Sanada couldn't help but scowl at how fast Echizen was eating. It was clear he was hungry and had a love for Japanese food, and that he was trying to pace himself, but it was still rather disturbing how fast the ramen was disappearing.

"Echizen, stop eating your food so fast" Sanada scolded, and he noticed how the regulars snickered amusedly. Echizen looked up from his ramen with amusement on his face.

"_Tarundarou"_ was his simple reply, and Sanada spluttered in an undignified way, outraged that Echizen used his own catchphrase against him.

"What did Echizen say, Sanada?" Yanagi asked curiously, and Sanada could see he was very amused by his sudden change of expression.

"Nothing" he replied too quickly, and returned to his ramen like nothing had happened. Only Echizen would be able to make him splutter like that, since he was used to such comments from Yukimura and Yanagi, but never him.

In that moment there was a chime, and Echizen turned and narrowed his eyes as he took his phone out of his pocket. Niou leaned over next to him and read the message.

"The Seigaku regulars are all sleeping over at Echizen's house" he stated, and Sanada's eyes widened. All of them? Even Tezuka?

"That's of no surprise" Yagyuu added, "Since Echizen's brother is a Seigaku regular himself". Sanada didn't miss the visible irritation on Echizen's face, which probably meant he disliked the regulars.

"You know the Seigaku regulars?" Kirihara asked, and Echizen just nodded his head, much to the apparent amazement of the team.

"Hm?" Yanagi mumbled, "That would be a valuable asset to my data" he stated to himself, and Sanada just rolled his eyes. Of course it would, everything would be a valuable asset to his data. Echizen put his phone back and continued to eat his ramen, occasionally pausing to sip some green tea, and the rest of the team followed suit. They ate in a rather comfortable silence for a long while.

"Echizen" Kirihara suddenly spoke up, "What are you doing for Christmas?". Sanada looked up in slight curiosity at Echizen's response, and he made signs to Sanada.

"_We don't celebrate Christmas"_ his hands said, and Sanada repeated his words.

"Eh?" Kirihara asked, "Why not?"

"_It's a boring holiday and since our birthdays are so close there's no point celebrating them separately"_ Echizen's hand stated, and Sanada repeated his words.

"Ah yes" Yanagi said suddenly, "Your birthday is on the 31st of December, yes?" he asked, and Sanada raised an eyebrow. What was he doing? Echizen nodded in response.

"Do your family plan to do anything for your birthday?" he asked bluntly, and Sanada was thankful that Echizen had his back to him or he would have seen his eyes widen. The rest of the team seemed to be frowning but said nothing. Echizen shook his head, and Yanagi frowned.

"No?" he questioned, "Why is that?". Echizen turned to Sanada, whom had recovered by this point, and made signs to him.

"I've never been a fan of big parties, and there's not much you can do when you're snowed in in the middle of winter" Sanada replied, and Yanagi nodded his head. Echizen returned to his ramen and quickly finished the last of it, sipping the last of his green tea as well and smiling happily.

"Echizen" he heard Kirihara say, and the team turned to him, "What do you plan to do over the holidays?" he asked, and Echizen made signs to Sanada.

"I'll probably just sit indoors and write, read some books and listen to music" Sanada translated hesitantly.

"Eh?" Marui asked, "You write books, Echizen?". Echizen nodded in response, and Sanada could tell that Yagyuu had thought of something by the way he randomly pushed his glasses up his face mid-conversation. It was rather sad how everyone was trying to extract information from Echizen to find out what he likes, and doing it rather obviously. But Sanada supposed this would be the last time they saw him so they had to be rather desperate.

"What kind of books?" Yanagi asked curiously, and Echizen made more signs.

"Whatever I'm inspired to write" Sanada translated, and he could see the tiny frown from Yagyuu in the background. He could tell that the team was now desperately trying to keep a conversation going, and Sanada mentally sighed.

_You idiots_, he thought.

**Streets of Kanagawa**

After a disappointingly uneventful dinner, mostly due to the fact that no one would leave Echizen alone, the team had decided to call it a day and go home. Niou had still not managed to come up with an idea for Echizen's gift, but he knew Yagyuu had an idea just by looking at him, since Yagyuu could hide nothing from him.

Fortunately he lived in the direction Echizen was walking in, so it was Niou, Echizen and Sanada walking together. Niou wasn't the least bit intimidated by Sanada, and so he saw this as his golden opportunity to learn something useful. He noticed that Echizen had his earphones in his ears with his cello case on his back, and Niou noted that Echizen's steps were in time with the music coming from his earphones.

"Echizen, what are you listening to?" he asked rather bluntly, and Echizen looked at him for half a moment in hesitation before handing him one earphone. Niou was honestly surprised that he did, considering he nearly died twice by his hand, but he took it without hesitation and pressed it to his ear. He recognized the song; it was one of the songs he listened to when he stole Echizen's iPod, the one with the weird man-bird on the album cover. This was his chance!

"Never heard of this" Niou muttered out loud, "What band is it?" he asked, and Echizen rolled his eyes, taking his iPod out of his pocket and showing him the album and band name.

_Breaking Benjamin._ Niou repeated that name to himself over and over again mentally, making sure to remember it. He knew what he would get Echizen now; he just hoped that it would work out okay. He just shrugged and handed the earphone back to Echizen, who took it gladly and put it back in his ear, and they continued to walk in silence until they reached the main road where Sanada and Niou split off since their houses were down the opposite road, and so Echizen nodded to them in goodbye and walked off.

"You could have been less obvious" Sanada stated when he was gone, and Niou snorted.

"Are you kidding? Were you even paying attention in Jackal's restaurant?" Niou returned, and Sanada grunted.

"Well now he definitely knows we're planning something" he stated.

"He'd probably know even if we didn't make it obvious, since we would definitely celebrate his birthday" Niou said, and Sanada grunted in agreement.

"Just don't give him a ridiculous prank as a gift" Sanada ordered, and Niou smiled in amusement.

"Oh? Sanada, you've gotten soft" Niou stated, and Sanada turned and glared at him, but Niou only laughed.

**Echizen Household**

Coming home to a house full of loud, annoying blue-clad teenage guys with his parents away visiting relatives in the middle of winter was not Roko's idea of fun. In fact, it was pretty much the opposite of fun.

He mentally sighed loudly and quickly moved to the stairs and reached his room before anyone could intervene. Ryoma was busy entertaining the Seigaku regulars in the living room, so hopefully they would leave him alone. It was still the afternoon so Roko figured he would listen to some CDs, maybe practice the cello or write and then go to bed. Though that would probably be impossible due to the seven annoying teenagers currently inhabiting his house.

Roko didn't bother asking why they were here, because in all honesty he didn't care why they were here, but that they were actually here. Seigaku was a team full of annoying people, from the loud-mouthed Kikumaru and Momoshiro, to the anti-social and constantly glaring Kaidoh. Even Kawamura became hectic despite his quiet personality, when he held a tennis racket, but somehow Roko felt that even he would be shouting all night too. Fuji and Tezuka were quiet, but whilst Fuji was secretly a sadist and a nosy intruder into Roko's life, Tezuka was incapable of talking in a full sentence. And Inui, don't even talk about Inui.

In his opinion Oishi was the only normal one on the team, well, as normal as Seigaku can be, but Oishi reminded him of Jackal quite a lot since he was the one that held the team together. He was also quiet and never really raised his voice, which made him a good person in Roko's opinion.

He honestly wondered how Ryoma dealt with these mad people. Rikkaidai was also pretty crazy but not to the extent of Seigaku.

He threw himself onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Ryoma was probably going to sleep downstairs in sleeping bags with the other regulars, which meant Roko had the room to himself for once. It was a rather odd realisation that for the first time in his life Roko was going to have a room all to himself.

Actually, that was a pretty depressing realisation. But it was true at the same time, since ever since they were born he and Ryoma and shared the same everything, and it was a rather difficult tradition to break. But the Seigaku regulars had given him some peace – depending on your definition of peace – and so Roko was thankful.

He quickly decided to get up and go downstairs for a drink. He quickly reached the living room, completely unsurprised to see Momoshiro and Kaidoh fighting with Oishi trying to break them up and the rest of the team blatantly ignoring them. Fuji looked up and noticed him, and smiled warmly in a way that reminded Roko of how Yanagi smiled when he knows something that others did not.

"Hello there, Echizen-kun" he said softly, and the rest of the team looked up to acknowledge him, and in an instant Kikumaru was moving.

"Echizen~" he called as he jumped to him and crush him into a death hug, but Roko just side-stepped and Kikumaru flew past him and hit the ground, as practiced from Marui. The regulars looked rather stunned, although Kaidoh and Momoshiro hadn't noticed at all and were still fighting.

"I've never seen anyone dodge Kikumaru's death hug before" Inui noted, scribbling in his notebook, which appeared out of nowhere, and Roko rolled his eyes. He left them to their own devices, moving into the kitchen and filling up the kettle before flicking it on. He waited a while, listening to the sounds of Kaidoh and Momoshiro fighting and conversation in the background, and he unconsciously shook his head. Seigaku were really weird, and they were here the whole night.

He mentally groaned loudly as the water finished boiling, and he took a ceramic cup from the cupboards and filled it, placing a tea bag in and stirring it gently with a spoon. He moved back into the living room, stepping around the still-fighting duo as he did.

"Ne, Echizen!" Kikumaru called, seeming to forget about Roko dodging him a minute ago, "We're going to watch a horror movie later, want to watch with us?" he asked, and Roko shook his head lightly and walked back upstairs with his tea. He disliked horror movies, no, he _hated_ them, because horror movies had blood in, and blood was something he did not like.

He moved into his room, closing the door and setting the tea down on his desk before opening the drawer and taking out his incomplete novel. It was about a travel writer who travelled around Japan documenting his adventures as he did, and meeting the heiress to a multi-million dollar company when she ran away, sick of her secluded life. The novel was basically about the two travelling Japan together and visiting all the sights, and Roko had not got much further than that. He knew that at some point the girl's father would come back with a vengeance, but he wasn't sure how yet. He'd have to work on that. He also knew they would fall in love, since he was unafraid to write about romance, but he wanted them to fall in love in an interesting way, not one of those corny scenes where they walk into the sunset.

He put his earphones in his ears and sipped his tea before unlocking his iPod, selecting slower electronic music to help his brain come up with ideas, and he began to write.

**I think that Roko is secretly writing PoT fanfiction**


	41. Day 1: Yanagi

**I named the chapters, because why not?**

**I loved writing this chapter, since I decided it was Roko's turn to get to know the regulars. I'm sorry you will have to wait so long for Roko's birthday, but these next few chaps will hopefully make up for it.**

**Streets of Tokyo**

It was cold, and the streets were layered with a thin sheet of snow, but Roko was bored and he had been trapped indoors for days, so he left the house to go for a walk. He wore a thick jacket with a layer of fur inside for insulation and thick trousers with walking boots. He still had his trusty iPod and earphones with him, since he would never separate from them, and he walked to the rhythm of the rock music in his ears.

It had been a week since school had ended, and tomorrow was Ryoma's birthday. He'd heard from Ryoma that Seigaku were planning on having a party for him at his teammate's restaurant, so Roko would have little involvement with him tomorrow. That was good, he never liked big parties, and even though he would be happy to celebrate with Ryoma, he'd rather give him his present and then leave him to his friends that were better company.

Roko had kept in contact with his teammates often, mostly Marui, since he made good conversation over text, and Roko decided that Marui was good company. They talked about whatever came to mind, and Roko was glad that for once he could express himself to the team without Sanada around, but it was really ironic that he expressed himself better from fifty miles away rather than in person. He also talked to Yukimura often, and he'd heard from him that he'd been practicing sign language as a past-time, and Roko promised him that when the snow cleared up he'd visit.

It was odd how much of a relationship he'd developed with the team, and for some reason in the middle of the snow-filled street with no one around and only the sound of rock music in his ears, Roko realised that they were the first people he'd met that he could class as friends. Roko had never had friends before, since he had always been Ryoma's shadow, and vice-versa for their entire lives, always talking to each other and staying by each other's sides, doing everything together. In a way Roko was glad he chose to go to Rikkaidai, because if he went to Seigaku with Ryoma nothing would have changed, and he knew it. Ryoma probably wouldn't have developed nearly as good a relationship with his teammates as he had now.

It then occurred to him that he called his teammates 'friends' rather than teammates. Is that how he thought of them? He supposed some were more than others, but overall they cared about him and they did their best to learn about him.

_And yet you know almost nothing about them, _his consciousness added, and Roko frowned in depressing realisation. That's right, his teammates worked hard to learn about him, asking every question they could think of in order to know him better, and yet Roko never asked them in return. He knew Sanada well, but that was a given when he was practically Roko's bodyguard.

He knew that Yanagi loved making his strange juices, and that he enjoyed reading and academic subjects. He enjoyed inflicting pain on people – quite like Fuji the sadist – and he prided himself in his data more than anything.

Jackal was the quiet caretaker of the group who never raises his voice at anyone, because he's too polite.

Marui was a fellow obsessor over cake, who enjoyed eating sweets and food in general. He enjoys pop music and goes bowling in his free time, he has two younger brothers whom he cares about and prides himself in his baking skills.

Niou enjoys playing pranks on people, and he isn't afraid of Sanada.

Yagyuu was too polite to express any sort of dislike because he was raised to be a gentleman.

Kirihara...

…

Wow. He knew so little it was stunning. Roko scowled, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty about not returning his teammate's questions. They tried to get to know him better and yet he never bothered to return the favour.

Roko mentally sighed. He knew he should get to know his teammates better, but without Sanada it would be difficult. In fact it would be more than difficult and he had experienced more than several annoying moments of trying to talk to someone through a pen and paper, and then realising he'd run out of paper. It was frankly just an awkward and annoying moment.

He supposed he could get to know them better. He had his phone, so he could text them whenever, or maybe visit them, he wasn't sure. The snow may clear up at some point, so he could go to Kanagawa if he chose to, maybe visit Yukimura.

He narrowed his eyes in thought. He had seven days before his birthday, which meant he had seven days to do as he chose. There were six regulars on the team excluding him – since he already knew Sanada well enough - and Yukimura in the hospital, which meant he could prioritize one a day. It was a really stupid idea, since he couldn't really get to know them over text, but he supposed he could try, if only to return the favour for their need to know him.

He could start now since he already knew a lot about Sanada, so he had one down and seven to go. He quickly drew up a mental timetable for the next seven days until his birthday.

_Day 1 – Yanagi_

_Day 2 – Marui_

_Day 3 – Yagyuu_

_Day 4 – Kirihara_

_Day 5 – Jackal_

_Day 6 – Niou_

_Day 7 - Yukimura_

Ah. Niou. Well that would certainly be interesting, considering he'd tried to kill him twice.

It then occurred to Roko that maybe he should apologize to Niou for trying to kill him. It wasn't exactly intentional, but there were times where Roko's murderous tendencies would flare up. Maybe he was bipolar, that would certainly be interesting. The bipolar mute boy.

_This is the most you have ever thought to yourself before_, his consciousness cut in with amusement in its voice. Roko didn't bother questioning how it was even amused, since he had long since decided that any questions he had couldn't be answered anyway. He just decided his brain was rather screwed up.

_It's interesting_, his consciousness continued, _that only now do you even consider getting to know the regulars._ Roko scowled annoyed.

_Well I'm going to do something about that_

_Sounds interesting. One regular a day. If you can pull this off I will be amazed, in fact I'll be impressed if you can last Day 1. Which is today, by the way._

Roko stopped as he realised that Day 1 was in fact today. He was suddenly thankful it was early morning, and he walked faster than usual back home.

_And I'm already looking forward to Day 6_, his consciousness added, and Roko scowled.

**Yanagi Household**

Renji sat on his bed reading a book with a glass of water on the table beside him. His room was rather basic, with white walls and oak-panelled flooring, with a single desk and chair, a wardrobe and a bed, with a table beside it. Renji liked to keep things simple and organised, and saw no reason to add anymore. True, he had his own personal touches here and there, like the crammed bookshelf hanging above his desk and a few files lying around on his desk, where he recorded everything from his notebook in case he lost it, though that was highly unlikely.

He sat up straight reading his newest book, his face portraying none of the emotion that was explored in the text before him. He distantly wondered what kind of books Echizen wrote, since he never really asked about what he wrote, maybe he could get a read of it, though that was unlikely, since Echizen was a lot more secretive than any other member of the team.

His phone on the table next to him suddenly chimed, and Renji looked to it with a raised eyebrow. Who could that be? He shut his book, making sure to mark the page before picking up his phone and checked the name.

_Echizen Roko_

Renji raised an eyebrow. Echizen had never made contact with him before, ever, so he must be pretty bored. But Renji still unlocked his phone with curiosity.

_**What are you doing?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji frowned. Echizen was never the type for small talk, which meant he was probably bored, but Renji didn't mind. It would be a good opportunity to collect data.

_**Reading a book I picked up from the library**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji didn't put his phone down, but instead looked at it for a while, and then a reply appeared, much to Renji's surprise.

_**What kind of book?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Now Renji was very curious to Echizen's sudden contact, and he replied quickly.

_**A romance novel**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

He looked at his phone a moment longer, and as he expected another reply appeared. This was interesting.

_**Do you like romance novels?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

_**I do. I like them because they give an interesting insight into the minds of human beings in unusual situations, under the influence of strange feelings. I think of it like watching an experiment to see how two people react if they were thrown into an awkward situation**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji made his reply deliberately long-winded but truthful out of curiosity. He wondered how Echizen would reply, and maybe he would give some sort of data that may prove useful.

_**I guess that's why your data is so important to you**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji blinked. That wasn't the reply he was expecting at all.

_**What do you mean?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji noticed that he was sitting ramrod straight out of interest of this new event, and he forced himself to relax by lying down on his bed.

_**Well, I figured that's why you like your data. You like knowing about people, understanding how their minds work, which is why you read those romance novels, because you find a person's individual psychology interesting**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji was rather stunned by Echizen's reply. He was sure that was the most he had ever seen Echizen say – even though this wasn't really the same – but still it was interesting to see how much Echizen grasped from that, and Renji had to agree with his statement. But he felt like Echizen was dragging the conversation over, since he was never one for small talk, and Renji frowned.

_**Echizen, if I may ask why are you suddenly so interested in me?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

There was a moment, and another message appeared, much to Renji's growing interest.

_**You always ask questions about me, so isn't it fair that I try to understand you?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

So that was it. Echizen felt that he should get to know the team better because they were so interested in him. So he felt guilty. Renji couldn't help but smile at the gesture behind it, and he replied without haste.

_**I suppose it is. If you are so interested, may I offer a deal?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

He smiled widely as his phone chimed a moment later.

_**Does it involve power juice?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji smiled wider in amusement and mentally chuckled. He liked this Echizen, when he was more talkative.

_**No. I answer one question and you answer one too**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

His phone chimed immediately.

_**Sounds fair.**_

_**What do you do in your free time?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji smiled softer, since Echizen was starting with basic questions. He seemed to want to really know about him, which Renji felt kind of touched by. He also grinned inwardly at this perfect opportunity to ask whatever he wanted and gather data. Before he even realised it he had his companion notebook and pencil in front of him ready to take notes.

_**In my free time I like reading, reading the newspaper and solving puzzles.**_

_**What is your book about?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

He smiled as he watched his phone in anticipation, and it chimed a moment later.

_**It's about a travel writer from America travelling Japan to see the sights and write about his adventures. During his travels he meets a young woman who is the secret heiress to a multi-million dollar company, who ran away sick of her life of bodyguards and corporate way of life. I haven't got much further than the main plot, but the father who runs the company will try to take her back.**_

_**You're taking notes on my answers, aren't you?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji grinned like a cat as he quickly wrote this precious data in his notebook. Who knew Echizen would write such interesting things?

_**Of course, this data is very precious**_

_**Do the characters in your book fall in love?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

He was rather disturbed by the fact he knew that he was taking notes, but at the moment he was too excited to care. Thank goodness Echizen had felt guilty about this, this was the best chance of data he would ever get, and Echizen would answer any question. Willingly.

_**Yes, they will, but I want to make a scene that isn't cheesy and overdone. Each person is different and they fall in love in different ways. The characters are at the opposite end of the spectrum so they can't just fall in love whilst walking into the sunset. They have to have their own unique way of exploring their feelings.**_

_**Why do you enjoy playing tennis?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji was shocked. He'd never known Echizen to be so poetic and analytical, and he was now scribbling furiously in his notebook. The data he was gathering was beautiful.

_**At first tennis was a past-time that I played because I decided I needed an extra-curricular activity, and then I started to enjoy it more and became serious. I play tennis for the satisfaction of winning, and for the data I gather just from playing against a person in a match. You'd be surprised how much people reveal about themselves in a match.**_

_**Were you always this talkative?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

He put his phone down for a moment and reached for his glass of water hastily, sipping it before picking his phone back up.

_**First of all, remind me never to play a match against you again. Secondly, I'm going to pretend that you didn't just ask a mute person if they were talkative.**_

_**But answering your question, I was talkative. I wasn't born mute, and reasons why I am mute are personal**_

_**Why do you enjoy reading the newspaper?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji's eyes snapped open for a single moment before he shut them again. Echizen was not born mute? He'd always assumed that he was, since he never gave any indication of his past life. And reasons for him being mute are personal? What did that mean? He had many questions, and quickly replied, not wanting to stop the conversation.

_**I enjoy reading the newspaper because I like to keep up on current events. It's important to understand what's happening around you before stepping into the real world.**_

_**You say you weren't born mute, so when did you become mute?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji frowned as he realised that Echizen would not like that question one bit. Would it step into his comfort zone? Would Echizen not reply and end the conversation? Renji really wanted this conversation to continue, since he was enjoying this data spree far too much.

To his surprise, a moment later Echizen replied.

_**I became mute when I was five; we lived in America at the time, and no, you may not ask what happened.**_

_**By stepping into the real world, you mean becoming an adult?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji pursed his lips in contained annoyance, but he did not explore the subject any further.

_**Yes. You must be completely prepared for the outside world before you gain your own independence.**_

_**Will you be doing the same for the rest of the team?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji quickly wrote the notes he had missed in his notebook, double-checking the conversation to make sure he had missed nothing. He could not let this moment slip by, and he would gather all the data from it.

_**I will. I have a schedule planned out; tomorrow I will be tackling Marui, who will be easier to work with as long as the discussion revolves around cake.**_

_**I have lunch now, so I will talk to you later. Bye.**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Renji frowned and groaned in audible annoyance as his moment of perfect data opportunities vanished. He wanted to talk to Echizen forever, know everything about him, but now it was gone.

He supposed he'd gathered plenty of interesting data, and he scanned his notebook feeling very self-satisfied. This would come in useful later, and as for Echizen having a schedule, Renji was practically chuckling. It seemed Echizen was a very organized person, to have a schedule on something as personal as this. Renji smiled widely, and he picked up his forgotten book and began to read it again.


	42. Day 2: Marui

**The reason this is 2 days late is because Friday is my 'I-can't-be-bothered' day, and Pokemon X and Y released yesterday.**

**Also for people who are like 'OMG Roko wasn't born mute?' or 'What happened when he was five?', you clearly didn't pay attention in chap 24. Read it again.**

**Echizen Household**

As expected, Ryoma wanted as little celebration as possible from their family. In fact, he wanted no celebration at all, and would rather just take the presents and thank them, without any sort of song or cheering or banners. So that was almost exactly what they did. The family of five including Karupin sat down, and they handed Ryoma their gifts. Ryoma unwrapped them, smiled widely, and then they shared some Japanese food and cake, which Roko was very pleased with. To be honest he was only there for the Japanese food and cake.

And that was pretty much it; there was conversation, but not so much, because the Echizens were just an understated family.

That didn't mean that Ryoma wasn't going to celebrate his birthday, since he was going out with the Seigaku regulars later. Though Roko could tell by looking at him it was forced, and he wasn't looking forward to it, but Ryoma wouldn't just turn around and say he wasn't interested in going, because he did care about people, even if he was rude and arrogant on the surface. Roko had his mask, and Ryoma had his.

Ryoma noticed that Roko was staring at him, and he frowned.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, and Roko smiled softly at him. Ryoma scowled, understanding that look.

"I know you're thinking I'm soft on the inside. I'm not going to turn around and tell the team I won't go. Fuji-senpai would kill me if I did" he stated, but Roko only heard excuses and smirked. Ryoma scowled deeper.

"It's the truth" he pressed, "Fuji-senpai would make sure I go no matter what"

_Liar,_ Roko thought, _you really care about your team._ Ryoma registered that look and rolled his eyes.

"You care about your team just as much" he stated pointedly, as if he gained the upper hand, but Roko just smiled in amusement.

_You just admitted you care about them_, he thought. Ryoma scowled at his expression.

"I never said I cared about them" Ryoma stated annoyed, "They're annoying"

_Well, I agree with you there_

"Especially Kikumaru-senpai" Ryoma added with a smirk. Roko looked at Ryoma curiously, once again wondering how he could stand Seigaku, and Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"You learn to ignore them" he stated, and Roko nodded his head. They had a lot of telepathic conversations like this, since Ryoma could tell what was on his mind just by making eye-contact. It was really amusing to Roko, since any other person in the room would look dumbfounded at Ryoma's one-sided statements, and even their parents couldn't understand the silent conversations that went on between them.

Roko smiled amusedly, wondering what kind of plot Seigaku had engineered for Ryoma.

"Knowing my team, it will probably be a disaster" Ryoma said, "And Tomaka and Ryuuzaki will definitely be there" he added with a pained frown, and Roko remembered the loud obnoxious leader of Ryoma's fan club, and he smiled widely.

"I know. The leader of my fan club" he practically groaned, and Roko mentally chuckled. Oh how he wished he could go with him, but he had other plans for today.

"No you can't go with me" Ryoma stated bluntly, and Roko rolled his eyes amusedly. They had the weirdest conversations ever, and yet to them it was almost natural. Roko supposed because he was mute it seemed natural, but there was something about how he didn't need to lift a finger to communicate that infinitely amused him. He shook his head in amusement and stood up from the sofa, moving into the corridor.

"Have fun with whatever you're doing" Ryoma called from the living room, and Roko rolled his eyes. Yeah, they definitely had the weirdest conversations ever.

**Marui Household**

Bunta smiled softly as he arranged his family's gifts under the Christmas tree erected in his living room. The tree was tall and was decorated with tinsel and baubles, and many different decorations, since his brothers practically considered it a sport to decorate the tree the best. It at least gave them something to do and saved his parents the effort of doing it themselves, since Shintaro and Koshiro would compete against each other in just about anything. Bunta smiled amusedly as he stood up from the tree, and he turned and walked out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Oi, Koshiro! Give it back!"

"No way, I haven't even had five minutes playing it!"

Bunta was unsurprised to walk in on his two little brothers arguing. They were twins and eleven, in their last year of grade school, and they were still arguing. They both had Bunta's amethyst eyes and soft features, but they had coffee brown hair contrasting to Bunta's pink-red hair, so Bunta referred to them as the tiny versions of him, though he was pretty sure he would never argue as much as they did.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked lazily, and the two twins looked up to him, and in an instant Shintaro was opening his mouth to protest.

"Nii-san!" he exclaimed, "Koshiro won't give me back my phone!"

"Shintaro let me play his new game and he won't let me play at least one level!" Koshiro instantly protested in response, and Bunta sighed loudly. His brothers acted like they were five, rather than eleven, and Bunta had to wonder if they had ever argued about something important.

"Alright" he said calmly, trying to retain peace, "Koshiro, you can play the game for the next ten minutes, and then Shintaro gets his phone back". It was clear by the looks of them that neither were happy, and they both opened their mouths to protest.

"Nii-san!" they exclaimed in unison, and then they turned sharply to each other, sending glares at one another. Bunta just watched the scene bored; having seen the same thing so many times it wasn't even funny anymore.

"Don't copy off me!" Koshiro demanded.

"Don't copy off _me!_" Shintaro retorted loudly, and Bunta sighed, leaving the room and his brothers. He'd dealt with this so many times he was just plain sick of it, but he knew as they reached puberty they would get worse, and he mentally groaned at the very thought. His parents were out buying last-minute things for Christmas tomorrow, so Bunta just went upstairs and entered his room in order to escape his younger brothers.

His room was bright and colourful, the walls painted a deep red and the carpet was blue. He had a large bed and a desk and chair and a dresser that was piled with papers and books for school that Bunta had yet to organize, but he had plenty of time for that. He threw himself onto his bed and sighed loudly, hoping to get some peace.

_I wonder how everyone else is doing_, he thought to himself, _maybe I could go visit Yukimura later_

He stared up at the ceiling for a while in rare peace, but then he heard his brothers shouting again, and he groaned loudly.

"Eh? Is anyone there?"

Bunta sat up suddenly, frowning curiously to what Koshiro had just said. Were they talking to someone on the phone? He quickly stood up and left his room, bouncing down the stairs and entering the kitchen. He found his brothers frowning at a device in Koshiro's hands, which Bunta quickly realised was his phone that he'd forgotten and left on the counter.

"What are you doing?" he asked sharply, stepping toward them, and both brothers looked up at him.

"Nii-san!" Shintaro exclaimed, "Your phone started beeping and we pressed a button and accidentally called someone, but there's no one there" Bunta frowned at his brothers.

"Is he still there?" Bunta asked, and Koshiro nodded and handed Bunta's phone to him, and he checked the screen for the name.

_Echizen Roko_

Bunta immediately looked up to his brothers sharply.

"Don't pick up my phone again" he ordered without room for debate, and the two brothers nodded obediently. Bunta scowled as he realised that Echizen probably was on the other line, not really sure what to do, and so he lifted his phone to his ear.

"Sorry about that, Echizen" he apologized, and the complete silence on the other end made Bunta frown, wondering if he was talking to Echizen or whether he wasn't there at all. He couldn't tell, and so he just hung up and left the kitchen and moved into his room. As he sat down on his bed his phone beeped, signalling a new message.

_**Your brothers even argue when they're on the phone**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta scowled, realising that Echizen had probably been helplessly listening whilst his brothers argued with each other. He typed a quick reply.

_**Sorry about that**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Bunta frowned as he waited for a response, since Echizen texted him in the first place he probably wanted to talk.

_**You get used to moments like that. Anyway, are you celebrating Christmas tomorrow?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta felt his gut fold in guilt, but he kept his attitude on the positive side of things and replied to his question.

_**If my brothers don't open their presents later today then yes. What are you doing tomorrow?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**Pretty much nothing. We don't celebrate Christmas so I might just sleep the whole day, since nothing will be open tomorrow**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta couldn't help but pity Echizen, who would be stuck indoors all day with nothing to do as his teammates celebrated Christmas. He frowned as he replied quickly.

_**Don't you have any plans for the holidays?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Bunta certainly hoped he didn't. If it turned out he was going to America or something to visit family then all of the team's efforts would have been in vain.

_**Well, today is Ryoma's birthday, and next week is mine, but aside from that I don't have anything to do**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta frowned deeply, what did he mean? His twin brother's birthday was today, and his was next week?

_**I thought you and your brother were twins**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Bunta looked up at the sound of shouting, and he scowled, promptly ignoring it and turning back to his phone.

_**We are, but we have this weird tradition of celebrating our birthdays a week apart so we both have a day to ourselves. I'm technically thirteen today, but my birthday is next week. I don't really mind it, as long as I get cake and gifts it doesn't matter what date it is**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta blinked. Wait, so Echizen's birthday was today? Was that bad? Should he tell Yanagi about this? Bunta decided that he wouldn't, since Echizen clearly preferred to celebrate his birthday on December 31st anyway.

_**So what are you doing for your brother?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

His phone chimed shortly afterward.

_**Ryoma's going out with Seigaku later, but he didn't want a celebration at home, so we just had a meal with him and gave him our gifts.**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta suddenly felt envious of Echizen, since he could have a quiet meal with his family on his brothers' birthday. If he had a single quiet moment at home it would be a miracle, and yet Echizen's brother wanted no celebration at all.

_**I don't suppose we could trade brothers?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

He chuckled at his own question for a moment, distantly hoping that Echizen would say yes.

_**As tempting as that sounds I may end up killing your brothers. Maybe next time. So what are you doing tomorrow?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta sniggered, understanding exactly what Echizen meant. There were moments where Koshiro and Shintaro drove him to the brink of insanity, and it certainly didn't help that his parents were working most days.

_**Well my brothers will raid the tree at about one in the morning. I'll come down later with my parents and we'll get our presents, and then we'll have dinner. We don't really do much else**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

His phone chimed almost immediately.

_**And what did you want for Christmas?**_

_**Other than sweets**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta chuckled, since that crossed off about a third of his wish list. His addiction to sweets was pretty worrying, but Bunta enjoyed sugar too much to care.

_**New phone, new watch, general kinda stuff**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

His phone chimed again.

_**Anything in particular?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta frowned. Echizen was acting strange, normally he'd have just continued on the subject like nothing, but instead he was pursuing his wish list for Christmas. He dismissed it as nothing and replied.

_**Not really, since you crossed off most of my list already**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

There was a pause, and then his phone chimed.

_**I swear you eat more sugar than I do**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta laughed out loud. He definitely ate more sugar, since Echizen's interest was entirely on cake whilst Bunta loved every kind of sweet imaginable, Echizen couldn't compete.

He continued to laugh for a long while, completely forgetting about the conversation he was in the middle of.

**Echizen Household**

When it became clear that Marui wasn't going to reply, Roko mentally sighed in annoyance and put his phone down. So that had been a total failure. He didn't even get one scrap of information from Marui, other than his obsession with sweets was more worrying than he had imagined.

He supposed that because they texted often he already knew a fair bit about Marui, but only general stuff, nothing really inward and personal like he knew about Sanada. Then again, he only knew personal things about Sanada because of how he trusted Roko not to tell anyone about his problems. But that was pretty valid considering without a pen and paper he couldn't communicate with anyone else anyway.

Roko mentally sighed again and stood up. Ryoma was still home, since the regulars would pick him up in an hour, so at least he had someone to talk to. He moved out of their room and walked slowly down the stairs to find Ryoma.

He was still sat on the sofa, but with the addition of Karupin on his lap and purring loudly. Ryoma looked up and smiled at him, and Roko smiled softly in response.

"How'd it go?" he asked, even though Roko knew Ryoma had no idea what he had been doing. Roko just scowled in response, to which Ryoma smiled widely at.

"Bad, huh?" he asked, and Roko nodded in response, moving to the other seat in the living room and sitting down. Ryoma's eyes glittered with amusement as he continued to pet Karupin with one hand.

"So what are you doing exactly?" Ryoma asked curiously, and Roko frowned, not wanting to give away his intentions yet.

"_I'll tell you if it works in the end"_ his hands replied, and Ryoma shook his head amusedly.

"Mada mada dane" he replied calmly, and Roko rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered if Ryoma even knew the meaning of his catchphrase, since he used it so often. In fact he also wondered the same thing about Sanada.

"_Let me know how your party goes"_ Roko's hands replied, and Ryoma frowned.

"Don't remind me" he groaned in response, and Roko smiled widely.

"_Mada mada dane"_ his hands proclaimed, and Ryoma frowned confusedly.

"That doesn't even make sense" he said, and Roko just gave him a very pointed glance, which Ryoma understood and scowled.

"Che" he muttered, looking down at his purring cat instead of Roko, and Roko mentally chuckled in amusement.


	43. Day 2: Marui - Part 2

**What? You thought that half-baked chapter was over? We still have Ryoma's birthday, you fools!**

**Kawamura Sushi Shop**

Why?

Why on Earth was he _here?_

It had started when Seigaku had arrived at the front door to pick Ryoma up, and Roko, being the diligent family member he was, answered the door. Half a second later Kikumaru was flying at him, and Roko dodged out of the way, allowing Kikumaru to crash into his floor. Inui then declared that he was the only person who was able to dodge Kikumaru's death hug, since he has amazing reflexes. Momoshiro then led the team in, marching like he was part of a parade, and with a stupid ear-splitting grin, completely ignoring what had just happened.

Afterward they had found Ryoma petting Karupin on the sofa still, and the team had picked him up and taken him to Kawamura's Sushi Shop.

And by 'picking up', Momoshiro, in his stupid joy, literally picked him up and carried him all the way there.

As to why Roko was here, that was because Fuji turned to him and offered him to join them. Roko declined, and then Fuji's grin became sharper, just like Yukimura's would when he wants something.

"Echizen-kun", were his words, "You can either come with us and celebrate, or I can have Taka-san carry you there"

Under most circumstances Roko would have ran away at this point, but he had already been surrounded by the eager regulars of Seigaku (minus Tezuka and Oishi, who just watched from the background), and so if he declined he probably would have been dragged there anyway, so Roko opted to walk, watching his brother shout and scream murder from Momoshiro's shoulder the entire time.

Back to the present, it really sucked. Roko was trapped in a sushi shop with the crazy regulars of Seigaku, the freshmen trio, Ryoma's crazy fangirl and the quiet girl Ryuuzaki.

What on Earth was he even here for? Everyone kept bothering Ryoma, showering him with meaningless conversation and Japanese food, so Roko didn't have his interpreter with him. It basically meant he couldn't communicate with anyone, like several people had tried.

The first were the freshmen trio, minus Horio who didn't once glance at Roko, but he supposed that was fine. The other two, Katsuo and Kachiro at least had the brains to understand that he couldn't answer anything beyond yes and no questions, and so they kept to that. Roko could tell they found the conversation awkward, and he didn't blame them, but they were trying too hard to keep conversation going.

Then there was Tomaka and Ryuuzaki. They kept the conversation going on longer, and Roko still had a hard time adjusting to 'Roko-sama'. They also understood the boundary for questions, but thankfully Ryuuzaki was resourceful and had brought some paper and a pen for him, which Roko was delighted at. He decided he liked Ryuuzaki, she was normal. With this new change it became far easier to have actual conversation, and the two seemed interested in actually getting to know him rather than asking intruding questions. They sounded pretty much the same, but in practice they were far different.

Finally there was Oishi, who noticed that Roko was sat alone and talked to him. Roko could instantly see the caretaker complex on his face that Jackal shared, and their conversation was far lighter. Oishi was actually a really nice person, but he tended to be a little too polite, quite like Yagyuu, except without the random push of his glasses up his face mid-conversation.

So now Roko was sat at the end of the long rectangular table on a cushion whilst the members of Seigaku talked. He didn't care for their talk, and in all honesty he wanted to leave. He knew it would be selfish to Ryoma, but he just felt like an outsider, probably because he didn't even go to Seigaku.

He wondered if they considered him an enemy. That would be the logical thing to do, considering he was from Seigaku's number one rival school, but the way Momoshiro addressed him by his first name and Kikumaru's incessant attempts of death hugs suggested otherwise. What did the others think? He knew Tezuka was Sanada's ultimate rival, so maybe he considered him an enemy. Maybe Inui too, since he didn't seem like the type who would ignore the obvious, especially because he was Seigaku's data master.

"Roko"

Roko was interrupted from his thoughts, and he turned to Ryoma, whom had called him, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Are the Rikkaidai regulars doing anything for your birthday?" he asked, and Roko rolled his eyes. If that stunt in Jackal's family restaurant wasn't a giant blinking sign saying 'We're planning your birthday party', he didn't know what was. Ryoma understood his expression and chuckled.

"Well, in that case have fun. Just try to be surprised" he suggested, and Roko shook his head condescendingly. He would try, but he probably wouldn't succeed.

That was pretty much the end of their conversation, and Roko sighed as he looked back to his sushi he had yet to eat. He wasn't really hungry, and though he loved Japanese food, he'd consumed a large slice of cake before-hand. It was convenient, since it meant he could turn down Fuji's offer of wasabi sushi, which in case you didn't know, is as hot as the burning flames of hell.

His phone chimed suddenly in his pocket, and Roko frowned confusedly as he fished it out.

_**Help me**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko mentally chuckled in amusement. It seemed Marui was having a good time with his brothers, and he quickly replied.

_**Maybe if you give them sweets they'll leave you alone**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

He rolled his eyes in amusement as he held in phone in one hand, knowing that he would get a reply soon.

"Ne, Echizen, who're you texting?" Kikumaru asked, appearing out of nowhere. Roko moved his phone away from him and locked it before Kikumaru could do anything, and he pouted like a child.

"Nya!" he cried, "Who was that? Was that your girlfriend?" he asked, and suddenly every head in the room was looking at him incredulously.

"Roko has a girlfriend!?" Momoshiro demanded, suddenly next to him, and Roko scowled at him. He then noted with a large amount of distaste how infuriated Tomaka looked in the background, with Ryuuzaki trying to calm her. She was clearly plotting the death of Roko-sama's girlfriend, and Roko mentally chuckled despite himself.

"Who was that Roko?" Ryoma asked, and Roko smiled, turning to someone he could communicate with, and made signs.

"_M-A-R-U-I" _his hands said, spelling out his name, and Ryoma frowned.

"The cake freak?" he asked, and Roko tried not to be offended at how he indirectly called him, someone who ate even more cake than Marui, a cake freak.

"Cake freak?" Fuji repeated curiously, and Ryoma nodded.

"Marui" he repeated from Roko, and suddenly the Seigaku regulars visibly straightened minus Ryoma, Momoshiro and Kaidoh.

"Marui?" Inui asked suddenly, "Marui Bunta?"

As if almost on cue Roko's phone chimed again, and the regulars stared at the phone incredulously, whilst Roko just rolled his eyes and unlocked his phone.

_**No way, I'd sooner die than give them my precious sweets**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko then noticed how close Momoshiro was to him, inspecting him curiously like a museum exhibit.

"Is Marui your girlfriend?" he asked.

…

There were not words to describe how confused Roko was in that one moment, on top of wanting to break down into laughter, so he opted with staring at Momoshiro incredulously, in a very horrified manner. Kikumaru broke down into hysterical laughter, Oishi, Inui and Kawamura chuckled and Fuji and Tezuka's faces remained still, but Roko saw the faintest grin in Fuji's expression. Ryoma also knew who Marui was, but he just shook his head, and though Roko couldn't hear him, he could see his mouth form 'mada mada dane'.

"What?" Momoshiro asked confusedly, turning back to Seigaku.

"Momoshiro" Inui stated, with an amused grin in place, "I believe Echizen-san was referring to Marui Bunta, the volley specialist for the Rikkaidai Tennis Team, a regular like him". Momoshiro's mouth formed a small 'o', as he now understood exactly what he had said.

Roko saw this as a good opportunity to reply.

_**You can just buy more. And in other news, Seigaku think you're my girlfriend**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko locked his phone, smiling widely as he imagined Marui's look of confusion and horror, before turning back to Seigaku. Momoshiro was looking back to him and his face was red with embarrassment.

"S-sorry" he managed to stutter lamely, and Roko made signs to him. The team frowned confusedly, and they all turned to Ryoma for translation. Ryoma however, did not translate, and instead bared the widest grin Roko had ever seen.

"Ochibi! What did he say?" Kikumaru asked, and Ryoma still kept the ear-splitting grin on his face.

"Nothing" he replied amusedly, and the team collectively frowned, much to Roko's amusement.

His phone suddenly chimed again, and Roko pulled it out of his pocket.

_**WAIT WHAT!?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko smiled widely in inward hysterical laughter as he replied.

_**Yeah that was my reaction**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

"Anyway" Ryoma continued, "I thought Ann was your girlfriend".

Roko looked up to him sharply, his eye blazing with murder. Ryoma only knew about his relationship with Fudomine because he caught him texting Ann once, and suddenly he was being labelled as 'the stud' by Nanjiroh. He liked being called 'mute boy' far better.

"EH!?" Momoshiro cried, "Ann-chan is your girlfriend?" he asked, and Roko frowned. Seigaku knew Fudomine well, but apparently more than he thought if they were on first-name basis. Roko shook his head in response, and his phone chimed again.

_**Whatever. Anyway, I don't suppose you know how to get rid of two annoying little brothers?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko rolled his eyes amusedly before replying, whilst being watched by everyone in the room.

_**I make my dad go away by throwing his porn magazines out the window, and he has the mental age of a ten year old**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

"Echizen!" Momoshiro said into his ear, and Roko looked up to realise he had been looking over his shoulder, and he bared a look of absolute horror.

"Why are you talking about porn!?"

**Marui Household**

Whilst Bunta was pretty sure his brothers didn't own any porn magazines – though he would be seriously worried if they did - it did give him a good idea. He wasn't going to throw their comics out of the window, because that'd just be cruel, but he decided that they were rather old and were constantly read, but their brothers still read them over and over again.

"So here's how it's going to work" he explained to his brothers when he was done, "You get your comics back if you two stop arguing and be quiet for the rest of the day". He almost felt guilty at how his brothers' eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Nii-san! You took our comics!?" they exclaimed in unison, and Bunta chuckled at how synchronised they were even though they were at each other's throats. They would make good doubles players if they played tennis.

"Yes, I did" he stated amusedly, and the two pouted rather cutely despite them being eleven. Bunta then nodded to himself and walked away, since his brothers didn't feel like replying. He reached his room and closed the door, breathing a large sigh of relief and he threw himself onto his bed. Finally some peace and quiet.

His phone chimed suddenly, and Marui dug it out of his pocket, noticing Echizen's name was on the screen.

_**Marui Bunta, this is Fuji Syuusuke. I noticed that you have been talking about porn with my kouhai's brother. I do not like this one bit, and so you have ten seconds to explain yourself.**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta froze. Wait, Fuji Syuusuke? From Seigaku? Why was he with Echizen? They weren't talking about porn, but about Echizen's dad's porn.

He quickly decided it didn't matter, and he replied quickly and bluntly in order to not appear like a total pervert.

_**We weren't talking about porn. We were talking about how Echizen gets rid of his dad by throwing his porn magazines out the window**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Marui watched his phone for a while. Quite a long while, hoping for a reply that wasn't a death threat. Even he knew how much of a total sadist Fuji Syuusuke of Seigaku was, and having him on your bad side was not a good thing at all.

After almost a minute his phone chimed, and Bunta scanned the message quickly.

_**Did I ever tell you how much I hate Seigaku?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta smiled amusedly at the realisation that Echizen had his phone back.

_**Did you kill any of them?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

What was worrying to Bunta was that that was a genuine question. He was pretty sure if someone accused him of talking about porn he'd probably go mad too, and this was the demon of Rikkaidai they were talking about. Kirihara doesn't even compare when Echizen is angry.

_**In front of Ryoma? No. I'll get my revenge later**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta involuntarily shuddered as he recalled Niou's unconscious body in the nurse's office after the whole incident with Echizen's iPod. It was very easy to forget that a satanic demon lived in that freshman's body, and he could only imagine how Fuji Syuusuke's face would look when Echizen was done.

_**Don't do any serious damage, we want to play Seigaku at the Regional finals, and it won't be good if they're all in hospital**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**I'll think about it**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Bunta shuddered again, suddenly praying for the lives of Seigaku.

**Echizen Household**

Roko laid on his stomach on his bed with his head in his pillow, hoping to suffocate himself and die.

The worst part about the fact Seigaku had literally pinned him to the ground whilst Fuji typed furiously in the background, with Tomaka trying to wake Ryuuzaki up from her sudden unconsciousness, was that the whole time Ryoma sat there and smirked widely at him. They had plenty of conversations about their dad and his annoying porn magazines, so he knew exactly what was going on, he just chose not to say anything.

At first he considered murdering – no, _slaughtering_ – every person in the room, excluding Ryoma. But after Fuji had given the extremely awkward 'OK' and Roko was given his phone back, Roko practically died of embarrassment, and just walked out of the restaurant. He really wanted to go home and suffocate himself.

Thankfully no one followed him, and now he was attempting to do just that. Kill himself slowly and painlessly, but sadly the pillow was not cooperating, and Roko eventually gave up and lifted his head.

Why? Why were Seigaku so weird?

Roko had never been so glad that he had transferred to Rikkaidai before, and he concluded that if he spent so much as a week with those mad people he would be back to his psychologist, with the new addition of a strait jacket. His phone suddenly chimed, and he mentally groaned as he dug it out of his pocket.

_**Still alive?**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko frowned as he replied.

_**I'm suffocating myself with a pillow, go away**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

His phone chimed almost immediately.

_**I'll be sure to play your iPod at your funeral, your music's pretty good by the way**_

_**From: Marui Bunta**_

Roko wanted to throw his phone out of the window. He had just died of embarrassment and all he got in return was _that?_ He had started a mission to learn about Marui and all he got in return was the fact he liked his music and the most humiliating moment of his life. He was suddenly so frustrated he considered throwing himself out of the window rather than his phone.

_Only five more days to go_, his consciousness added helpfully, and Roko imagined stabbing his consciousness in the throat with a sharp knife, real or not.

He then decided he would continue to suffocate himself. He still had five more days.

_Please let tomorrow be better_, he prayed as he buried his head back in his pillow.


	44. Day 3: Yagyuu

**This one's shorter than the other Day chapters or whatever you want to call them, sorry about that. And I like your feedback on Ryoma's birthday, since it gives me an excuse to plot Roko's revenge. Mwahahahahahaha**

**Echizen Household**

Ryoma sighed softly, sitting on the sofa in the living room with Roko next to him and Karupin on his lap. Today was Christmas, and to any other family than meant gifts and celebration, but to the Echizens that meant even less to do than usual. Aside from watch TV, listen to music, search the internet, eat and sleep, there was nothing to do at all. Roko didn't seem to mind though, since he practically spent every waking moment outside of the house with his earphones in, so he decided he'd wear them inside the house too. He sat there calmly sipping his green tea with English techno music playing in his ears at a volume high enough that Ryoma could hear it.

Their parents were still asleep, or rather; they were still in bed, since both of them had even less to do than they did, so they decided they'd spend the day doing absolutely nothing. That was fine by Ryoma, it meant less time with his idiot father.

Karupin yawned softly on Ryoma's lap, and then got up and stretched his legs before jumping off of him and walking away, leaving Ryoma to share a comfortable silence with his mute brother. This was one of the few times Ryoma wished he had invested in an iPod so he could listen to his own music, but music had never interested him, since his only real focuses in life were food, sleep and tennis, anything beyond that wasn't worth his total interest.

Roko just sat there and acted like Ryoma wasn't sat right next to him, staring up at nothing as the music played in his ears, and Ryoma could tell he was in his own little world right now. He could say with confidence that he was the only person who really understood Roko, even better than his parents, because he could read him like a book just by making eye-contact. Roko had always been a patient person who would never express his opinion unless asked, because he'd rather not talk at all, and he appeared to never care about the opinions of people, but Ryoma knew that there were times where people's statements would hit Roko dead-centre, despite how he didn't show it.

One such example was his team's display yesterday when they mistook his conversation with his teammate for a conversation about porn. Ryoma didn't show it, but inwardly he was cackling, because he knew exactly what was going on, and just decided to savour the moment and watch. Roko had just walked out when it was done, and Ryoma couldn't help but smirk, he didn't blame his brother for walking out on his birthday, since he found Seigaku three times as annoying as he did and was accused of talking about porn. Ryoma was rather surprised he didn't kill them.

His anger issues were a problem, but Ryoma didn't refer to them as 'anger issues', but rather times to blow off steam when tennis isn't enough. Ryoma knew exactly why Roko became so angry; it was because of most of his life. In America the kids in grade school didn't understand what being mute actually meant, and just thought Roko was some kind of freak for not being able to talk, and naturally others thought he was too stupid to talk. Roko was none of those things, and there was one occasion when Ryoma wasn't present, and some kids had tormented him about his disability, and Roko ignored them. It continued, and one kid said something about how Roko would always be an idiot. Roko's temper went through the roof and he gave the kid a bloody nose and knocked out one of his teeth. So he was expelled, and Ryoma followed him, which was fine, he never liked the people there anyway.

Roko had moments like that because rather than taking those comments on, he just absorbed them and ignored them. Like a bottle of soda, the comments built up and up until eventually the bottle can't take any more pressure and it explodes, and all of Roko's despair and hatred and rage comes flaring out, and anyone caught in it would likely suffer a lot of pain. Ryoma didn't blame Roko for it, and in fact he hated the fact that Roko just absorbed the comments rather than taking them on first-hand, but he knew that Roko knew that it would never work. It was a despairing realisation, but for as long as he lived Roko would always be the 'mute boy' and Ryoma could not stand it.

It made his gut fold in guilt, once again wishing that it was him who had suffered so much from the crash.

Roko suddenly stood up, and Ryoma frowned as he walked out of the living room casually, his face portraying a brief glimmer of intent.

"What are you doing?" he asked curiously, and Roko turned and made signs.

"_I'm going to write some more"_ his hands replied.

_Liar._ "Ok then"

**Yagyuu Household**

Hiroshi mentally sighed as he watched the snow continue to fall onto the ground outside, with him trapped in his own house watching the world through his window. Marui, Yanagi, Kirihara, Jackal and Niou were all celebrating Christmas right now, and Yukimura was silently celebrating from hospital, which only made it more depressing for him. Echizen and Sanada were probably experiencing the same kind of despairing boredom that he was, so at least he wasn't completely alone, despite how little that made him feel better, not that he would show it.

His parents were away visiting relatives, and had been for a few days now, since they trusted Hiroshi to look after himself. It only made things even lonelier for him, and Hiroshi threw himself onto his bed in a rare show of frustration. No one was around, so he supposed it was alright to act less of a gentleman.

He heard a dim sound, and Hiroshi looked up with a raised eyebrow, slowly moving to sit up.

_What was that?_ He wondered, and he moved out of his room and went downstairs, looking for the source of the sound. The sound didn't chime again, and Hiroshi wondered for a moment if he was being delusional from all of his boredom. He moved to return to his room when the sound repeated louder, and Hiroshi frowned, recognizing the sound as he moved into the living room and saw his phone on the coffee table where he had left it and forgotten about it. He unlocked his phone and noticed he had two messages.

_**Are you just as bored as I am today?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

_**I know you don't celebrate Christmas either**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Hiroshi frowned. Echizen had never made contact with him before, other than their match during the ranking tournament and the occasional general conversation with a pen and paper. This was certainly a change, and one that he appreciated greatly. Yes, he probably was as bored as he was, if not more, and he felt rather touched that Echizen actually cared about him enough to ask about his well-being.

_**I am fine, it would be rude to feel bored and left out when I have chosen to not celebrate Christmas**_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi**_

He didn't feel like lying, but he was still a gentleman, and gentlemen did not express irrational emotions. His phone chimed almost instantly, and Yagyuu frowned at the message in surprise.

_**No one's listening you know, you don't need to act so uptight**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Hiroshi almost gaped in surprise. Him? Uptight? That was just plain rude, he had never been uptight before, he was well-mannered and quiet, but never uptight.

_**Excuse me?**_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi**_

Hiroshi wasn't sure what to say, and so he just stared at his phone incredulously, completely forgetting he was standing in the middle of his living room like a statue.

_**Uptight. You act uptight around people, but no one's listening right now**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Hiroshi reminded himself that good gentlemen did not gape like a fish, and he straightened his posture before sitting down on the sofa in the living room, deciding to continue the conversation there.

_**I do not act uptight, Echizen-kun**_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi**_

He watched his phone for a moment, and as expected it chimed and a new message appeared.

_**You know how I know you're lying? You used honorifics after my name in a text message**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Hiroshi blinked. Did Echizen even realise how rude he was being? Did he even realise how uptight _he _was? He was being such a hypocrite! What had he even talked to him for?

_**Echizen-kun. I used honorifics because it is polite to state someone's social status after their name, and as for me being uptight, would it be fair to say that you are uptight too? In that case it would be considered rather hypocritical **_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi**_

He realised immediately that he had been rude in that one message, but Hiroshi was too annoyed to care at the moment. Did Echizen even realise what he was saying? Hiroshi was the perfect polite gentleman who never took a step out of line, and yet he would accuse him of such derogatory terms? It was plain unethical and impolite. His phone suddenly chimed, and Hiroshi read the message, his face portraying nothing of his internal turmoil.

_**You're right Hiroshi, I am uptight, I don't express my emotions, and do you know why? Because I can't. I contacted you to have a nice conversation and to learn more about you, since I feel like I don't know you at all and maybe get you to relax in the process, but since you don't want to leave your comfort zone, let's just forget this conversation ever happened.**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Hiroshi froze as he realised his mistake.

_Dammit_, he thought, not even caring that he had used an impolite term to express his thoughts.

_You are such an idiot_, his thoughts said, and Hiroshi felt guilt building up in his stomach as he stared at the message. He had completely forgotten that one massive detail about Echizen that practically defined him as a person, that he was unable to speak, and yet he would accuse him of not expressing his thoughts!? Idiot! How could he possibly forget that?

It occurred to Hiroshi how little he knew about Echizen in that one moment. It wasn't that he never tried, but he had always felt it would be rude to invade Echizen's comfort zone and ask blunt questions, and so he left it, and only now did it occur to him how little they talked. Hiroshi knew the least about Echizen than anyone else in the tennis team, and it made his gut fold in guilt at the realisation. He had deeply offended Echizen without even realising it, and he had offended him even more by not even listening to his suggestion to relax.

And he wanted to know more about him? Echizen was actually concerned about his knowledge of his teammates enough to try to get to know them?

_He should already know plenty about you, but you're too polite to express yourself_, his thoughts said, and Hiroshi frowned, not even caring if it was un-gentlemanly. He typed his reply quickly, hoping Echizen still had his phone on him.

**Echizen Household**

Roko watched his phone, waiting to Yagyuu's inevitable reply. He knew that Yagyuu was far too much of a gentleman to not reply and comply to his demands, which was exactly what Roko wanted. If he could count the amount of times he had been called uptight and inward by people he'd probably be in the thousands, and it was now the simple fact that it did not offend him at all. However he knew if he continued to push Yagyuu he would get nothing out of him, so he resorted to metaphorically walk away from the conversation, in the hopes that Yagyuu would follow. Which he would.

Roko couldn't care less about Yagyuu's statement, and it didn't faze him in the slightest, but he had chosen to pretend to be offended for the benefit of Yagyuu coming out of his shell. In a metaphorical sense Yagyuu had to shed his heavy shell or he'd never catch up to Roko, who was leaving him behind. Though he kind of felt guilty at how he had manipulated Yagyuu, but it would benefit them both in the future. He even added the fact he was wanting to know him better in the hopes Yagyuu would fold.

His phone chimed, and Roko smiled widely as he read the new message.

_**I apologize, Echizen, I did not mean to offend you**_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi **_

Roko frowned. That wasn't the reply he wanted, but at least he had dropped the honorific from his name.

_**Does that mean you'll drop the gentleman act?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

There was a pause, in which Roko just stared expectantly at his phone.

_**Fine, I will drop my politeness if it pleases you**_

_**From: Yagyuu Hiroshi**_

Roko smiled widely. There wasn't a trace of over-politeness in that sentence, which meant Yagyuu had finally given up. Perfect.

_**In that case can I ask you a question?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_


	45. Day 4: Kirihara

**I'm sorry that there's not much learning about people in this chapter, but I felt like I'd already done too much of the whole texting thing, and I didn't want to devote all of the chapters to just texting.**

**And I apologize for not updating earlier, but recently I've become extremely lazy with my fic.**

**Sanada Household**

Sanada sat in his living room sipping his green tea in a comfortable silence. His mother and grandfather were both busy at this time with their chores for the day, and after Sanada's short break he would practice his kendo. Sanada tried to ignore the slight tickling cold on his back from the snow outside, but to no avail, and he mentally sighed in annoyance. It was frankly annoying how most of his team had celebrated Christmas whilst he had to attend his daily duties like nothing had changed, except the thick layer of white outside. Even Yukimura had celebrated it, although he celebrated from his hospital bed. Sanada immediately pushed the thought from his mind to stop himself from feeling guilty.

His phone that was on the table suddenly began chiming, and Sanada raised an eyebrow at it as it continued to chime, and so he sighed and put his tea down and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he asked when he had answered.

"Sanada, I'm going to be blunt" came a voice, and Sanada realised it was Yanagi. He frowned, noticing that he didn't call him by his first name like always, so he must be serious.

"OK" he said slowly, unsure of what Yanagi wanted from him. Yanagi never called unless it was to talk about the tennis line-up or some major event had occurred.

"Tell me what Echizen likes" he ordered.

Sanada frowned. Was the data master asking him for information?

"Why?" Sanada asked, equally as blunt, and he heard Yanagi sigh through the phone.

"Because I don't know what he likes, and you do" Yanagi stated distastefully, and Sanada did not fail to notice the reluctance in his voice. Yanagi was asking him for information on Echizen. That data master of Rikkaidai didn't know something. This may be the first time ever that Sanada had heard of such a thing.

"Sanada, I know what you're thinking" Yanagi cut in sharply, "Tell me what he likes". Sanada frowned confusedly.

"I thought you already had data on Echizen" Sanada stated, and he could somehow sense Yanagi's scowl through the phone.

"I have data on his tennis style and eating habits" he stated acidly, "On his personality and more personal information, but there is nothing I can use" he finished, and Sanada frowned. 'More personal information'. He didn't like how that rolled off Yanagi's tongue.

"You don't have anything useful?" he asked, still rather uncertain about whether Yanagi was being serious. He was the data master of Rikkaidai, and he had data on everyone.

"Sanada" Yanagi stated once, sounding very annoyed, "Tell me what he likes".

It was immediately clear how reluctant Yanagi was about asking him, and Sanada almost felt sympathy for him. He was the one in Rikkaidai with all the facts and figures, and the very idea of him not knowing the interests of someone else was practically alien, so Yanagi's pride must be very bruised to have to come to this point.

"Fine then" Sanada said after a while, and he paused.

"You know he likes eating cake, drinking tea, playing the cello, listening to English music and playing tennis" Sanada began, and he heard a grunt of agreement, "He also likes writing books, reading and running".

"I know all of those Sanada" Yanagi stated bluntly, "Tell me something I don't know". Sanada sighed loudly and reluctantly.

"That's it"

There was a long period of silence, in which Sanada could swear he heard the quiet but annoyed quick breaths of Yanagi through the phone.

"That's it?" he repeated.

"That's it" Sanada said rather dumbly.

"Sanada" Yanagi said, his voice strangely devoid of any emotion as always, "Are you telling me that from all your time with him you know no more about him than I do?"

"No" Sanada stated, "But what I know about him will not prove useful to you, just like your 'personal information' on Echizen" he said rather irritably. There was another long silence.

"I see" was all Yanagi said.

Sanada opened his mouth to say more, but then there was a click on the other end, followed by a low ring, and he knew Yanagi had hung up in annoyance. He sighed and put his phone back on the table and picked up his lukewarm tea and drunk it like nothing had happened.

**Yanagi Household**

Renji seethed in annoyance as he put his phone down on the table on stared at it. Genichiro had been totally useless, and he knew the most about Echizen than anyone. Echizen's birthday was in six days and he not made any progress with his gift.

It was shameful; it was undeniably shameful for him to admit that he was probably the only one on the team who had no idea what to buy him. From what he knew, Jackal was buying tennis shoes, Marui was making cake, Yagyuu was buying a book, Niou was buying a poster, Kirihara and Seiichi he wasn't sure of, and Genichiro was being tight-lipped about his gift.

While it was true he had talked with Echizen recently, it wasn't until later in the day that he realised the data he had extracted was totally useless. How on Earth could knowing that he wasn't born mute help him buy a present? It couldn't, because Renji was far more interested in learning about his past and gathering data than finding out what he likes, and when he finally realised that he'd been stupid enough to pass up the opportunity for completely useless data he felt like an idiot.

So now in his desperation he was doing whatever was necessary to learn about Echizen. Surely there must be _something_ he could learn about him outside of the little he knew, but Genichiro was sadly his only opportunity, and he had not helped at all. Now he had no options left, and Renji could never forgive himself if he bought a lukewarm present for their kouhai.

What did Echizen like? He liked English music, cake, drinking tea, running, tennis, reading, writing and playing the cello.

Buying something related to English music would be pointless, considering Echizen would probably already have whatever he bought.

Cake wasn't even in the question anymore, since Marui had that covered.

Tea? What was he supposed to buy that's tea-related?

Running? Shoes was the obvious answer, but Jackal had that covered

Tennis was an obvious one, but buying tennis gear would be rather un-thoughtful

Yagyuu had reading and writing covered with the book

Playing the cello...

…

Renji sighed loudly in exasperation and threw himself onto his bed in the hopes of suffocating himself. It seemed nearly everyone had an idea apart from him, and the more people who bought gifts the less options he had.

His phone chimed on the table, and Renji stopped and frowned at it before picking it up.

_**Yanagi-senpai! I figured out what to buy Echizen!**_

_**From: Kirihara Akaya**_

For a single moment Renji had to restrain himself from throwing his phone out of the window. Kirihara had a gift, and he didn't. Renji did his best not to snap his phone in half as he replied.

_**And what did you find out?**_

_**From: Yanagi Renji**_

Renji watched his phone for a moment, and after about twenty seconds his phone chimed again.

_**Echizen is texting me and we started talking about tennis, and he mentioned how he sometimes runs with power weights to build up his stamina, so I thought I could get him some new ones since I asked him about it and he said that they're worn down since he uses them so often**_

_**From: Kirihara Akaya**_

Renji frowned. So Echizen was continuing his trial of learning more about the team, and was talking with Kirihara. Renji wondered if Echizen had learnt anything important about the team.

But back to the problem at hand, now Yukimura was the only person Renji was sure did not have a gift for Echizen. So it was him and Yukimura remaining.

_I must not be the last one_, he told himself. This may just be buying Echizen a gift, but Renji would not be the last one, he would not stand around and wonder what Echizen liked, because he was the data master. This was now an unofficial race, and Renji would not lose to Seiichi.

**Kirihara Household**

Akaya smiled widely as he waited for Echizen's reply. He was currently on cloud nine with how relieved he was that he managed to think of a gift at last. He was worried that he knew little about Echizen, but thankfully for whatever reason Echizen had decided to text him and Akaya had learnt about his worn-down power weights, so he would buy Echizen some new power wrists and ankles. Blue of course, since Akaya knew he liked blue.

His phone chimed, and Akaya smiled as he read the new message.

_**Do you plan to go pro with tennis?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Akaya smiled as he replied quickly.

_**Of course, I couldn't think of doing anything else. What about you?**_

_**From: Kirihara Akaya**_

"Akaya, who are you texting?" came a female voice, and Akaya looked up noticing that his older sister Namaki was leaning forward in front of him to stare him in the eye with a curious expression. She was in her second year of high school and had long black curly hair with deep green eyes and sharp features, and she wore a loose wool top and jeans. Akaya scowled at her.

"No one, nee-san" he said, in an attempt to get rid of her. Namaki frowned at him and leaned further forward.

"You are texting someone" she stated, and then paused, and Akaya frowned at her.

"Is it your girlfriend?" she asked after a while, with an amused grin on her face, and Akaya felt all the blood in his body rush into his head.

"It _is_ your girlfriend!" Namaki stated loudly, pointing to Akaya's flushed face.

"Nee-san!" Akaya protested loudly and embarrassed, but Namaki had already swiped Akaya's phone out of his hands. Namaki instantly took a step back as she unlocked his phone with ease, and Akaya was on his feet.

"Oi!" he shouted, "How come you unlocked my phone?" he demanded, and Namaki snorted.

"Your password is 'tennis', Akaya, it's not hard" she stated bluntly, and she quickly moved out of the way as Akaya dove at her to retrieve his phone, but to no avail. Namaki started to type furiously on the screen, and Akaya could only imagine the horrors that would unfold.

"Give me that!" he shouted, reaching for his phone, but Namaki stepped back and moved around the sofa in the living room in an attempt to block Akaya off.

"No way!" she claimed, "I have to test whether your girlfriend is good enough for you". Akaya felt all the blood in his body in his head again and it felt like he was suddenly in a sauna.

"Nee-san!" he cried angrily, dashing at her and attempting to swipe the phone, but Namaki had already moved and was out of the living room before Akaya could react. He chased after her, and moved into the corridor just in time to see the bathroom door close, and in an instant Akaya was there trying to yank the door open, but it was locked from the inside and the door did not move.

"Nee-san!" Akaya cried furiously, bashing his fists on the door, but there were no sounds from within, and Akaya stopped. His sister thought Echizen was his girlfriend, and was going to interrogate Echizen on their 'relationship'.

_This is bad._

**Echizen Household**

_**I'm not sure. I enjoy playing music, and I want to do it more often, but I love tennis just as much, and I might not do either of those anyway.**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko smiled as he awaited Kirihara's reply. Kirihara was far more open about himself and would answer any indirect question Roko would ask, which made this far easier, and Roko had already learnt a fair chunk about Kirihara. He was a nice person outside of the tennis courts, and though he had a rather annoying personality Roko wasn't bothered by it, and just embraced the annoyance and moved on. He didn't really mind it anyway.

Kirihara, in his opinion, was the softest member of the team, and probably the most social. He'd say on a social scale from worst to best it went: Sanada, Yanagi, Yagyuu, Jackal, Niou, Yukimura, Marui and then Kirihara. Roko himself was probably before Sanada on the scale, but being social was next to impossible when you're mute, so it didn't bother him.

Roko waited for Kirihara's reply, which he noted was taking longer than usual, when his phone suddenly started chiming, signalling someone was calling him. Roko frowned, what were people calling him for? He couldn't speak to them. He picked up his phone and checked the name.

_Kirihara Akaya_

Roko frowned, but answered out of curiosity.

"Hello?" came a female voice on the other end, and Roko's brow furrowed. Who was that?

"Hellooo?" the voice asked again uncertainly.

"Anyone there?" the voice asked, and Roko mentally sighed. It seemed whoever this was had no idea who they were calling.

"Nee-san!" came a familiar voice, and Roko frowned as he recognized Kirihara. 'Nee-san'? So this was his sister?

"Akaya!" the older sister called, "There's no one there!"

Roko almost jumped when he heard the sound of splintering wood from the other end of the phone, and the older sister gasped in fright. There was a following sound of turning metal, possibly a lock, and suddenly there was a huge **'**_**Nee-san!'**_, which sounded like a very angry Kirihara, before there was a shout and the sounds of a struggle. Roko just frowned confusedly as he listened to Kirihara and his sister in some sort of wrestling match, with the occasional grunt or shout, before the sounds died away and the sound of heavy breathing was suddenly present.

"Sorry Echizen" came Kirihara's voice, and then he hung up, and Roko just stared at his phone confusedly. What had just happened?


	46. Day 5: Jackal

**Update - I have fan art! Yay! Thank you DragonStorm12**

**Good news! I have winter assessments next week, which means studying all weekend! Woo!**

**Yeah, this isn't a very 'woo' moment.**

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Yukimura sat up in his hospital bed with a garden catalogue in front of him, reading out the newest selections they had available for flowers and cacti. It occurred to Yukimura earlier that morning that though he knew little about Echizen, he did know one thing, he liked blue. Whilst that wasn't much to go on, Yukimura was the type of person who preferred to add his own personal touch to his gifts to others, and so he was browsing the catalogue in hopes of finding the perfect kind of plant, one that didn't require constant attention, not too tall, not too short, could survive for a long time, and was blue.

Most people would find this idea totally ridiculous, but to Yukimura it made perfect sense. He liked to give his gifts some sort of signature – a personal stamp that verified that it was really from him, and Yukimura loved gardening above a lot of things, so a potted plant made sense to him.

He browsed through the catalogue animatedly in the hopes of finding a gift, whilst occasionally glancing at the sign language book he had on the table next to him. He desperately wanted Echizen to visit him soon, since he wanted to practice his sign language with him, and since he had never been able to talk with him about the video of his cello solo that Marui sent. To say Yukimura was impressed was an understatement, but he supposed he'd only truly known Echizen for half a day, so he shouldn't have felt guilty over it. But he was, because he felt like he barely knew Echizen, which was true. He didn't know much, if anything, about his freshman prodigy, and it bothered him that he knew so little.

So in a way this was Yukimura's method of making up to Echizen for his lack of knowledge on him. It wasn't intentional, and frankly it was rather irrational that he was doing this, but at the same time Yukimura felt like he needed to in order to gain Echizen's friendship, because his teammates were his friends, even if tennis was all about winning to him.

Yukimura stopped when he noticed a cactus on the page of the catalogue, and he looked at it for a moment. It was a picture of a sky blue cactus in a small plant pot with quite large brown spines protruding out from it. It was a _blue cactus._ Yukimura smiled widely as he scanned the information of the plant below.

_Pilosocereus Pachycladus._

_Grows up to 6-40 feet_

_Only needs to be watered every 3-4 weeks, and when the soil is dry_

_Prefers temperatures over 45F and average humidity_

_Originates from North-East Brazil_

_Flower is a white and green funnel-shape_

_Commonly referred to as the 'Blue Candle'_

Yukimura hummed thoughtfully. Whilst the part about it growing to 6-40 feet would be troublesome, it would take years before it reached that height if it was small enough. The ones in the catalogue were advertised to only be one foot tall, so they were likely fresh, and the judging by the picture Yukimura would say it was one foot, and it looked a vibrant sky blue.

_This will be perfect_, he thought as he scanned the picture of the blue cactus on last time, and then nodded to himself.

_Definitely_, he decided, and scanned the order number on the bottom before picking up his phone and calling the gardening store. There was an answer after two rings.

"Hello?" came a young woman's voice.

"Hello" Yukimura replied, "I would like to place an order under 'Yukimura'". The woman on the phone hummed in acknowledgement and she paused, probably writing down the name.

"And what would you like to order?" she asked when she was finished.

"Number 0175" Yukimura replied, and the woman paused again, and Yukimura heard the flipping of a book through the phone.

"Here it is" she said after a while, "Pilosocereus Pachycladus"

"That's right" Yukimura said.

"In that case we can have your order ready to pick up by five in the afternoon" the woman replied, and Yukimura smiled widely.

"Thank you" he replied, "I'll send someone to pick it up"

"Thank you for doing business" the woman replied, and then she hung up, and Yukimura smiled excitedly as he put his phone down. He could send his parents or sister to pick it up later, and Yukimura could have it ready by the evening.

**Kuwahara Ramen Shop**

_**So what is it like in Brazil?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Jackal smiled softly at Echizen's question. They had a nice conversation going, since Echizen had texted him just as he returned from the shoe store with Echizen's gift. They started talking about general things, plans for holidays, stuff like that, and then they got onto the topic of their family and Echizen developed an interest in Jackal's home country. His Brazilian father had met his Japanese mother when she came to Brazil on a university exchange trip, and his mother ended up staying in Brazil with his father, and Jackal lived in Brazil with them for ten years before they moved to Japan.

Brazil was a nice place, though sometimes it could be too hot even for him, so moving to Japan was a nice change, but the winters like this one were just unbearable for him and his family, who had adapted to hot climates. Jackal rarely left the house because of it, and made sure to drink plenty of tea and hot drink when it was offered. It wasn't that he disliked Japan, but he'd much rather spend the winter in Brazil rather than in his room with a thick sheet of snow outside.

_**It's hot, very hot. This snow makes me miss Brazil so much**_

_**From: Jackal Kuwahara**_

If it wasn't for the fact that Jackal's dad owned a ramen shop now he'd have probably begged to leave this forsaken white-coated country and return to Brazil forever, but his father had started up a business several months after they arrived in Japan to get a better idea of the culture, with help from his mother, so Jackal was now stranded here. He sighed in exasperation, wondering how much colder it would get before his parents would change their minds.

His phone chimed in his hand, and Jackal looked at his new message.

_**I take it you don't like the snow?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

That was definitely an understatement, and Jackal replied with a frown.

_**You're lucky, since you're used to this kind of weather. Meanwhile I'm sat here wrapped in a sweater and a scarf in my own house because in Brazil we never had weather below fifteen degrees**_

_**From: Jackal Kuwahara**_

Jackal sighed as he put his phone down and leaned into the comforting feeling of his woollen scarf, since he was actually wearing a sweater and scarf in his own house. He honestly hated this weather with a passion, and Jackal couldn't wait for spring to come so he could stop looking so ridiculous with this thick woollen sweater.

His phone chimed again, and Jackal picked it up.

_**I'll be sure to bring a blanket the next time I see you, you might need it**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Jackal chuckled amusedly at Echizen's statement.

_**Yes, please bring one, I need all the warmth I can get**_

_**From: Jackal Kuwahara**_

Jackal liked it when Echizen was texting him. He was talkative, and Jackal could actually hold a decent conversation with him. He was at first surprised how talkative Echizen was, but then he reasoned that he probably had a lot on his mind since he couldn't speak, so it was fair that he was more talkative than most people over text, though Jackal still couldn't quite get his head around the fact that he wasn't having a one-sided conversation with the freshman, since that was all he ever had with him. He was glad Echizen had texted him.

His phone chimed again, and Jackal scanned the message.

_**I will, I'll make sure of it. You know how entertaining it is to imagine you curled up in a ball in a sweater and scarf?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Jackal snorted as he replied.

_**Believe me, it's far more pathetic in person**_

_**From: Jackal Kuwahara**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**You're quite self-critical**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Jackal just rolled his eyes.

_**If you looked in the mirror and realised you were drinking a cup of steaming tea wearing a woollen sweater and scarf in your own house, and you were still shivering, you'd feel quite pathetic too**_

_**From: Jackal Kuwahara**_

His phone chimed almost immediately.

_**I'll bring two blankets**_

_**From: Echizen Roko **_

Jackal chuckled amusedly. It seemed Echizen was feeling sorry for him, not that he cared, if it meant he got extra blankets.

**Sanada Residence**

When the delivery man had knocked on his front door with Sanada's parcel in hand, he was there and opened the door in an instant, doing his best to contain his eagerness as the delivery man jumped back in fright. Sanada pointedly ignored his sudden fright and signed the paperwork quickly, taking the parcel and closing the door, moving into his room in an instant. Normally he would be scolded for running in the house, but his grandfather was meditating at the moment, so Sanada couldn't care less.

He moved into his room and placed the cardboard box on his bed, moving back out of his room to the kitchen quickly, and retrieved a decent-sized knife and returned to his room. He quickly inserted the knife and cut away at the tape, careful not to damage the object within, slitting around the edges, and then opening the box carefully and checking that the object within was exactly what he ordered. He nodded to himself in confirmation, and then moved back into the kitchen and put the knife away, before moving back to his room.

He stopped when he realised his mother was standing in his room examining the box curiously, and she turned to Sanada when he entered.

"Ah, Genichiro" she said, her eyes softening, "What was all that running around about?" she asked, and Sanada blushed involuntarily. It occurred to him that maybe he was a bit _too_ excited about his package, and so Sanada looked at his wall with sudden interest.

"Nothing" he replied awkwardly, still focusing on the wall, and his mother smiled amusedly.

"Oh? Then what's this?" she asked, pointing to the half-opened box on Sanada's bed, and Sanada coughed awkwardly.

"A package" he replied bluntly, still not looking at his mother. Dammit, why did she have to walk in?

"I can see that" his mother replied amusedly, "But what's in it?". Sanada paused.

"Echizen's gift" he said awkwardly, and his mother smiled wider.

"Oh?" she asked, "Genichiro, I've never known you to care about someone so much before, not even Yukimura-san" she stated.

"Mother" Sanada coughed awkwardly, and he could see her chuckle slightly.

"What's in the box?" she asked lightly, and Sanada continued to stare at the wall. His mother took that as a sign and ignored him and opened the box herself, and Sanada moved to stop her. Sanada's mother's eyes widened when she saw what was inside, and she smiled softly as she looked up to Sanada, who was frozen to the spot in embarrassment. Was his gift too bland? Boring?

"Genichiro, how much did this cost you?" she asked softly, and Sanada blushed and looked away again.

"Quite a lot" he replied, not wanting to tell her exactly how much it had cost. Sanada's mother smiled at his reaction.

"Well, it must be more than you're letting on" she stated, and Sanada did not reply.

"I think this is wonderful, Echizen-kun will love this" she said with a wide smile, and Sanada looked up to her unbelieving.

"Really?" he asked tightly, still feeling rather embarrassed. Sanada's mother nodded her head softly in response, and Sanada felt the worry lift off his shoulders.

"I do" she replied, "But you might not want to let your grandfather know exactly how much this cost, so you might want to hide it" she advised, the warm smile never leaving her face. Sanada nodded in acknowledgement, and Sanada's mother nodded to herself.

"Just be careful, you don't want to damage it" she advised before she left the room, and Sanada waited until the door closed before sighing loudly in relief and moving toward the box. Thankfully the objects were coated in styrofoam pellets, so none of them were damaged, and Sanada lifted the box carefully and placed it under his bed, sliding it towards the back, and he mentally sighed in relief. He was worried that with the snow his package may never have arrived on time, but it had, despite this bad weather, and so Sanada felt far happier than usual. He was now really looking forward to Echizen's birthday.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

Kirihara smiled widely as he browsed through the various kinds of gear on offer at the tennis store. Thankfully because Christmas had just passed most stores still had their Christmas sales going, which made what Kirihara was looking for within his budget. Though he was here for Echizen's gift, he couldn't help but browse the various tennis rackets and shoes they had, and he smiled widely at the thought of owning them himself.

_Stop it, you're here for Echizen_, his mind reminded him, and Kirihara frowned but nodded to himself, moving away from the tennis rackets and toward the section where the store sold grip tape and power weights.

He moved to the section, and almost instantly saw what he was looking for. On the shelf were two power wrists and two power ankles on half-price, deep blue and white striped, and with a total of ten pockets on each to occupy 1kg iron bars for weight training, which meant the wearer could have a total of 40kg on them. Kirihara was pretty sure Echizen wouldn't go that far, but he supposed it helped for building up stamina, since he could increase the number of weights when he wanted.

Kirihara smiled widely, picking up the box that contained the four blue power bands and the forty iron bars that came in the box, and moved to the counter to pay when he noticed a sign.

_Buy one item; get another free,_ the sign said, and Kirihara smiled as he turned back to the shelves. He immediately noticed the types of grip tape that were available, but Kirihara decided he wouldn't buy blue, since a blue racket would clash with the regulars' uniform. He decided to buy a durable black grip tape, and he picked it up, moving to the counter happily with his two new objects.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

Meanwhile down the street Niou was busy scrolling through the various posters in the music store. He didn't know much about English music, but one thing he did know was that this store was the only place that sold English music in the area, so hopefully they had what he was looking for. He was looking for a poster of the bird-man on the album cover that Echizen showed him last week, and he would find it.

He distantly wondered how the rest of the team were doing with their gift-hunting. He knew that most of the team definitely had gifts, the only people he wasn't sure about were Yukimura and Yanagi, but they probably both had their gifts planned too. Sanada he was also sure of, but he had never once mentioned what his gift was; just continually saying 'I already decided what to get him'. Niou smirked at the thought, since he could never imagine Sanada buying any sort of thoughtful gift, since he was the mean taskmaster of a temporary captain of the tennis team.

Niou stopped when he recognized an image he had unconsciously scrolled through, and he quickly turned back to it, his grin almost reaching his ears when he recognized the man-bird he saw last week. He checked the name at the top to make sure, and even though it was in English, Niou recognized the name. This was what he was looking for.

Niou scanned the number at the bottom, and nodded to himself, moving to the stacks of rolled-up paper behind him and pulling out the correct numbered poster, checking the poster inside to make sure they matched, before moving to the counter to pay for it.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

Yagyuu scanned the bookstore sharply, searching for an appropriate book for Echizen. After their conversation took a rather dramatic turn they had settled into a comfortable talk about their reading interests, and whilst Yagyuu preferred classical literature, Echizen liked more modern authors; trilogies, series of books, stories that constantly continued and had you on the edge awaiting the next. Yagyuu came to the conclusion from that that Echizen was a fan of suspense-kind of novels, and so he decided he would find a suspense-style book.

He sort of knew what he was looking for, since he wanted the book to be in Japanese and to preferably be something Yagyuu had already read, to make the task easier. He knew of several very interesting books he had read that fit that description, and so he was in search of one of those.

He scanned the shelves back and forth, looking for the 'R' section, since the store had its books in alphabetical order, before he finally found the section and quickly searched for what he was looking for.

Yagyuu saw it, and almost immediately snatched it away and held it in his hands, scanning the cover and blurb to be certain. This was it, the book that he decided Echizen would like. It was a book called 'Red Lilies', based in the time of the Japanese Samurai Wars. It is told from the perspective of an emperor's beautiful young daughter whose empire is taken over by a rebel clan, and the daughter escapes as her father is murdered in front of her. The story is based around her falling unconscious and waking up in an unknown village where no one knows who she is, and she must train to fight in order to take back her empire with the help of her father's neighbouring empire against the rebels.

Yagyuu smiled widely. This would be perfect for Echizen, and he unconsciously pushed his glasses up his face as he moved to the counter to pay for it.


	47. Day 6: Niou

**I'm not going to make excuses...**

**...**

**Actually I am. The reason this is so late is because apparently my entire college play Pokemon X and Y, and so we had a huge tournament at lunch, so my last few days have been 'MUST HAVE THE BEST POKEMON'. I'm very proud because I successfully killed a Mega Mewtwo :P  
**

**And this chapter is short because of my lack of inspiration, and frankly just wanting to move the plot to Roko's birthday. I'm sorry that everyone is expecting murder or dramatic stuff, but there is a severe lack of that.**

**Isn't it worrying how I'm 47 chapters in and the Regionals haven't even began? *cries***

**Echizen Household**

How exactly did you start a conversation with someone you tried to kill twice?

If Roko had an answer to that question he would have done something ten minutes ago, but sadly he didn't have the faintest idea, and so for the last ten minutes he'd been staring at his phone in the shallow hope that it would give him an answer, with only 'Hi' typed on the message. He honestly felt guilty, when he looked back on it, about how he acted towards Niou's pranks. He knew that he had serious anger issues, and Roko took Niou's pranks way too far, and so he wanted to apologize.

But how exactly did you say 'Hey, I tried to kill you twice, but I realised I overreacted and I'm sorry', without it sounding totally ridiculous?

Roko mentally sighed loudly and put his phone down, in the hopes that the silence would help him think. It was frustrating how much he wanted to apologize, but at the same time he couldn't do it in a way that would be totally awkward. Though Niou never seemed to be bothered by what Roko did. Don't get him wrong, if Roko sent a death glare at Niou he would dive for cover, but other than that he was fine, since both times Roko tortured him he turned up to school the next day completely OK. It was honestly disturbing how he could step out of it like nothing had happened, but Roko supposed he was the trickster.

Roko wondered what Niou thought of him. Did he think he was some sort of demon?

_Most of the school do, they just don't say it out loud_, his consciousness stated, and Roko ignored it.

Maybe Niou thought he was a kid with serious anger issues.

_Which you are_

Maybe Niou was actually afraid of him.

_I would be too_

Or maybe Niou just didn't care, since he never acted like he did.

_So just like you then_

_Do you mind?_ Roko mentally replied irritably.

_Not at all, carry on_, his consciousness said.

_Go away_, Roko ordered, and his consciousness sighed.

_You make it sound like I can just 'leave' your mind; I'm the other half of your brain._

Roko had decided a long time ago that the annoying voice in his head, whatever it claimed to be, should be pointedly ignored when it came to debates like this that bordered on supernatural, so he just acted like his consciousness had not said a word.

'_Annoying'?_ His consciousness asked, somehow sounding offended, _I am you, you know_

_You're the voice in my head_, Roko mentally replied simply.

_Exactly. Unless you have some sort of space probe in your head that speaks to you through someone with a microphone on the other side of the world, I'm pretty sure I'm just your subconscious._

Roko frowned. The voice in his head, whatever it was, was definitely not him. He would never use a space probe as an analogy.

_I'm hurt_, his consciousness stated, actually sounding wounded, and Roko mentally sighed.

His phone suddenly chimed next to him, and Roko frowned as he sat up on his bed and scanned the screen.

_Niou Masaharu_

Roko raised an eyebrow. Niou was texting him? Why? More importantly, why was he texting him now, when he was going to text him? Roko unlocked his phone curiously.

_**It's OK, I forgive you**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Wait what?

How on Earth did he know?

_I think it's the space probe_, his consciousness added helpfully, and Roko pointedly ignored it.

_**What?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko put his phone down and stared at it incredulously. How did Niou know he was looking for his forgiveness?

His phone chimed, and Roko picked it up quickly.

_**Well I was scrolling through my texts and noticed that you were typing a message, so I thought I'd wait for it, and ten minutes later you're still typing the message. So you're trying to find the words to say, or you're typing a really long message.**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko was stunned. He didn't even realise until Niou pointed it out that he had been staring at 'Hi' in his message box for the last ten minutes. Damn Niou, he was crafty, but he was just conveniently scrolling through his messages at the time?

_I told you, it's the space probe_, his consciousness stated amusedly.

_Shut up about the damn space probe_, Roko mentally replied irritably. His consciousness seemed to shut up, and so Roko rolled his eyes and replied bluntly to Niou's message.

_**Fair enough. Why were you scrolling through your messages at the time?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko couldn't deny that he was curious about that, and he hoped that Niou would give a straight answer.

_**I do get messages from other people you know**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko frowned, that wasn't a good enough reason.

_**And why did you specifically look at my messages to you?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

He mentally sighed as he awaited Niou's message, unless Niou accidentally selected his messages and noticed that Roko was writing a text, there was no way it was an accident.

_Space probe_, said his consciousness.

_**Ok fine, Yanagi told me to expect a message from you.**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko's eyebrow disappeared into his hair. Yanagi? Why was Yanagi involved? He had told Yanagi about his plan, but not about who he would talk to each day. He frowned as he tried to recall if he ever discussed his schedule, but he never had, so Yanagi had figured it out himself.

But more importantly, Yanagi had just saved him the trouble of sending Niou an awkward text message.

_**Ok then, I suppose that makes things easier**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Roko felt rather conflicted. On the one hand Yanagi had probably done research into who Roko had contacted and what they talked about, so he could form Roko's schedule to the point where he could predict who came next. That was rather disturbing, and Roko felt like he should do something about that. On the other hand Yanagi had just solved his problem of starting the conversation.

Roko's phone chimed suddenly.

_**So did you just want my forgiveness for trying to kill me?**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko frowned but replied hesitantly.

_**Why would you forgive me so easily?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**I don't hold grudges**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko was surprised. Niou didn't hold grudges? He had never assumed Niou to be that kind of laid-back character. But more importantly, Niou was forgiving him? So easily? If Roko had been in the same position he probably would have never spoken to his assailant ever again, and frankly he probably would have got his own revenge, but Niou didn't even care.

_**I almost killed you twice and you don't care?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**Not really, I got over it**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Roko frowned. While he really didn't agree with Niou's logic, he supposed it made things easier for him, so for now he would drop the subject.

_**Thanks**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

His phone chimed almost immediately.

_**You're welcome**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Renji moved quickly through the door and into Seiichi's room, and quickly took his place on the chair next to Seiichi's bed while he waited. The room was completely sterile with white walls and floor, with only a bed, Renji's chair, and various machines by the bed that would attach to the patient. Seiichi was in the middle of physical therapy, and would be back soon, and Renji hoped he would return quickly.

Echizen's birthday was the day after tomorrow and Renji still had no clue at all. Worse than that, because since everyone else had their own gifts the options Renji had were even narrower, and now it was only him and Seiichi who did not have gifts for Echizen. Whilst Renji didn't show it, he was inwardly despairing and seething, because he knew that his opportunity to learn about Echizen was wasted for his selfish need of data.

Which is why his gift must be perfect. There was no question anymore; the only way Renji could redeem himself was by producing the best gift possible for Echizen. In other words it had to be better than everyone else's, and Renji had two days including today to come up with it. It was a challenge, but now Renji would not idly sit around and do nothing. His gift would be the best. He would redeem himself for such a dramatically large hole in his data.

The door slid open, and Renji looked up to see Seiichi standing in the doorway on crutches with a nurse by him, and Seiichi smiled warmly.

"Renji" he greeted softly, as he moved to his bed. The nurse assisted him getting onto his bed, and then she put the covers over him and placed the crutches by his bed before leaving without a word spoken. When the door closed Renji looked to Seiichi, who was now lying on the bed next to his chair.

"What is it?" Seiichi asked curiously, and Renji frowned.

"What do you mean, Seiichi?" he asked. Seiichi glanced at him pointedly, and Renji could practically see the 'you-cannot-hide-anything-from-me' in Seiichi's eyes, and he sighed defeatedly.

"I still have not got Echizen a gift" he said bluntly, and Seiichi smiled softly.

"Oh?" he asked, "Echizen is concerning you so much? Renji, you're getting soft" he stated and then chuckled, much to Renji's annoyance.

"Well since we both do not have an idea I thought we could help each other" Renji stated calmly, and Seiichi's eyes glittered in amusement and smugness, and Renji froze.

He knew what that smug look meant.

"Oh" Seiichi said calmly, "Renji, I already have my gift for Echizen. In fact it's right here" he said, leaning towards the table on the opposite side of his bed and producing a small box that was neatly wrapped with shiny black paper and a small bow.

There were three things that went through Yanagi Renji's mind in that moment.

One, Seiichi had won the unofficial race to buy Echizen's gift without Renji even knowing.

Two, Seiichi had never bothered to tell him.

Three, Renji was now the only Rikkaidai regular without a gift.

If Renji was even paying attention he probably would have noticed the fact that he had his eyes wide open and was gaping like a fish, but right now he was too stuck in his despairing comatose to care.

Seiichi chuckled humorously at Renji's expression, and Renji managed to stop gaping and closed his eyes after much resistance.

"Seiichi" he said dryly, keeping his emotionless mask in place even though it was now pointless, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked" Seiichi replied quickly, and Renji tried not to frown.

"So Renji, you're the only one without a gift" Seiichi stated, "What are you going to do?"

Renji just buried his head in his hands in utter defeat.

"I don't know" he said into his palms, "Echizen is the most unpredictable person I've ever met, and every time I gather data on him he turns around and completely defies it". There was a pause.

"That's true" Seiichi agreed.

_You are not helping_, Renji thought acidly.

"Why don't you just ask him?" Seiichi asked rather bluntly, and Renji just frowned into his hands.

"But then I would just be proving to Echizen that I can't gather data" he stated, and Seiichi sighed lowly.

"Since when does Echizen care about that?" he asked evenly, and Renji sighed.

"He doesn't" he admitted.

"So what's the problem?" Seiichi asked. Renji lifted his head out of his hands and made eye-contact with Seiichi. He could see in Seiichi's eyes that he was practically screaming at him to just ask, rather than dance around the problem. It was irritating, because Renji would rather die than admit that he could not gather data. His pride was on the line, and he was the data master of Rikkaidai, and there was no one he could not gather data on.

Except the mute freshman prodigy of the Rikkaidai Tennis Club.

But how long could he continue like this? Time was running out and Renji still refused to acknowledge it. If he didn't do something soon it would be too late, and Renji didn't doubt for a moment that he would suffer at Sanada's hands for it, because unfortunately he was already past the older brother stage of protectiveness, and now he was just unhealthily overprotective, even if he didn't admit it or realise it.

"Fine" he said, totally defeated.

**Niou Household**

_**So why did you bleach your hair anyway?**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Niou smirked at his newest message. At first when Yanagi had mentioned the fact that Echizen would contact him Niou was almost certain it would be to threaten his life. After all, the kid had practically done it twice already, though he tried not to think about that.

Niou wasn't stupid though, and he knew that if he hadn't started the conversation first Echizen probably would have never said anything. He had to admit that if he had to start a conversation with someone he almost killed he'd be pretty stumped too. But aside from that rather looming fact, which Niou chose to ignore, they were having a pretty decent conversation.

_**I just like silver, and I never liked my brown hair**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

The reply was almost instant.

_**I can't imagine you with brown hair**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Niou frowned, recalling his ugly brown hair. It was a sort of chocolate colour, but it looked more like mud on his head. He'd never liked his hair colour. Ever.

_**You don't want to**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

Niou practically shuddered at the memory, and his phone chimed again.

_**I can imagine and it doesn't look right at all**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Niou replied quickly.

_**No it doesn't**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**You should give me a photo of you with brown hair for my birthday**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Niou just rolled his eyes.

_**Don't push your luck**_

_**From: Niou Masaharu**_

His phone chimed almost immediately.

_**It was worth a try**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_


	48. Day 7: Yukimura

**Ok so I've decided that the half term just makes me incredibly lazy. Also I physically cannot write before 9pm, which is pretty worrying.**

**And yes, Oishi Akitaka is a real character.**

**Echizen Household**

Roko moved like a blur as he gathered his things for his trip to see Yukimura.

Under most circumstances he would have just texted Yukimura from his own home and learnt more about him that way, but it wasn't snowing outside today, for the first time in two weeks. If it had stopped snowing it meant that the train tracks may have been cleared up, and so Roko had checked the train timetables online on his phone.

The train to Kanagawa would be delayed, but not cancelled.

This was perfect. He'd wanted to see Yukimura for a while now, and they had only ever had one conversation, which was just Yukimura praising Roko for his cello performance which Marui had apparently recorded. Roko didn't care too much for that, but now he saw it as a good opportunity to cheer Yukimura up.

So Roko had gathered his cello, some warm clothing, his iPod and earphones, and his school backpack, filled with two blankets for Jackal, since he hoped he could visit Jackal whilst he was in Kanagawa.

He was in the middle of putting on his jacket when Ryoma walked into their room, and he raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Where are you going?" he asked bluntly, and Roko half-turned to him excitedly.

"_The trains are working today"_ his hands replied simply, and he turned back to what he was doing.

"Heh?" he heard Ryoma ask, "So you're visiting your teammates?" Roko just acted like he hadn't said anything and zipped up his jacket, and quickly took his cello case and slung it onto his shoulders and picked up the stuffed backpack. He quickly made sure that he had everything he needed before moving to the door, but Ryoma had not moved from the door frame. Roko frowned at him annoyed, but Ryoma didn't move.

"What's the cello case for?" he asked, and Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, since Ryoma clearly wasn't going to let him go easily.

"_Buchou said he'd like to hear me play" _Roko replied, and Ryoma rolled his eyes, still not moving from the door. Roko scowled at Ryoma, sending the silent message to move from the doorway right now. Ryoma scoffed, understanding the message and moved from the door to allow Roko through, and in an instant he was out of the front door.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Yukimura sighed softly as he scanned his completely white and sterile room. He was bored, insanely bored, because everyone was too busy with their families, including his own, to visit him. Sanada had visited yesterday, but it had been rather brief, since his family wanted him back, and no one had visited since.

It seemed everyone was too busy with their families right now, and because of the snow it was too much of a hassle for them to travel to the hospital anyway, which only made Yukimura feel lonelier. His own family were also busy visiting relatives, since they were staying with them for New Year's Day.

It felt like everyone had forgotten about him.

At least he had his Christmas gifts, though that felt like a small consolation. He had received a small cactus with a blooming pink flower from his little sister and some novels from his parents, since Yukimura enjoyed reading and gardening more than a lot of things. They were nice gifts, and they relieved his boredom somewhat, but they were of no long-term help, since he was back to doing nothing when he finished them. The cactus was nice to look at but did not help him at all. Yukimura knew he sounded selfish, but when you are trapped in a hospital with a condition that impairs you from walking there isn't much you can do outside of sit in a bed all day and do nothing.

Even the nurses had been visiting less and less often. Most of the time they came to check on Yukimura and ask if there was anything he needed, since they genuinely cared about him, but recently they had all vanished, only occasionally appearing to take blood samples.

Yukimura hated it here. He wanted to leave, he wanted to go home so badly, and he wanted to play tennis again.

The door to his room opened, and Yukimura mentally sighed as he turned to the door, expecting to see a false-faced nurse standing in the doorway, so his stomach practically did a backflip in excitement when he saw Echizen standing there instead.

"Echizen" he called with a huge smile and Echizen smiled widely in response.

"How are you?" Yukimura asked, and Echizen nodded as a response, as a sort of sign for 'good'. Yukimura could ask how he got here and why he was here, but the hows and whys did not matter at this point, since he was excited just to have a visitor. Echizen moved towards the chair next to Yukimura's bed, and placed down his bag and his cello case.

_His cello case._

Yukimura smiled even wider, since he had wanted to hear Echizen play forever since he was showed his performance a few weeks ago.

"You brought your cello" Yukimura breathed excitedly, and Echizen smiled at him in response.

"Can you play something?" Yukimura asked giddily, and Echizen raised an eyebrow, as if to say: 'what?' Yukimura then remembered the sign language book he had on the table next to him, and he turned and grabbed it quickly, turning back to Echizen with a wide smile, and he noted how Echizen looked at the book curiously.

"I never told you, I've been teaching myself sign language for a while now" he explained, and Echizen's eyes widened slightly in mild surprise as his looked at the book for a moment longer, before looking up to Yukimura.

"_It'll be nice to talk to someone else"_ his hands responded, and Yukimura smiled as he realised that Echizen was referring to Sanada. It must be annoying being only able to talk to one person in the entire school, and Yukimura understood his point of view.

"So can you play something?" he asked, containing his desperation and excitement. Echizen smiled widely and nodded, opening his cello case and extracting the large wooden instrument within, which Yukimura noticed was shining with polish, and not a speck of dirt on it. Echizen sat down on the chair next to Yukimura's bed, and drew his bow from the cello case, placing his cello against him and hovering the bow above the strings, and he turned to Yukimura with a raised questioning eyebrow. Yukimura understood the look and thought for a moment.

"I'd like to hear one of your composed pieces Echizen" he stated excitedly, and Echizen nodded and placed the bow on the strings without a moment hesitation, and he slowly glided the bow across them, creating a slow, low note that Yukimura smiled widely at.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Okada stopped as she was about to open the door to Yukimura's room when she heard the soft sounds of music drifting out, and she frowned. Music? Was Yukimura playing classical music? Okada very carefully slid the door open by a crack and peered in, and immediately noticed the smaller boy she recognized from his occasional visits playing a cello on the bed next to Yukimura. Neither of them noticed, and so Okada quickly slid the door shut and walked away, she could come back for the blood sample later.

Okada passed through the corridors quickly, the other nurses greeting her with a simple nod of acknowledgement before moving onto their own patients, since this entire floor was for patients with serious conditions, and the work of the nurses here could not be impaired. That said, Yukimura's blood sample could wait if he had a friend.

Okada recognized that boy; he was the mute one, since she saw him using sign language once when he was here with Yukimura's other friends. Okada knew that speech disorder was a very psychologically damaging condition, and she felt nothing but sympathy for the boy, and it must be terrible to not be able to speak. What was his name? Echizen.

"Okada-san" a voice called, and Okada turned to see Doctor Oishi standing there carrying a leather suitcase and wearing his usual lab coat. Doctor Oishi was an expert physiologist and psychologist from Tokyo hospital who had come here for a business meeting with the hospital's head about a possible job offer. He was a tall man with short black hair, soft features and deep blue eyes.

"Ah, Oishi-san" she greeted, "How did the interview go?"

"It went quite well actually" Oishi replied, "The head said he'd make a decision next week". Okada nodded politely in response.

"Well it will be nice to have you here" she replied genuinely, since Oishi seemed like a wonderful person to have around.

"Thank you, but if I may ask, don't you have a patient to attend to?" he asked politely, and Okada nodded.

"I do, but Echizen-san is visiting at the moment, so I'll attend my patient later". Oishi frowned suddenly, much to Okada's confusion.

"Echizen? You mean Echizen Ryoma?" he asked curiously, and Okada frowned.

"You know him?" she asked, and Oishi shook his head.

"No, but I do know he plays on my nephew's tennis team" he responded, and Okada pursed her lips but nodded in acceptance.

"I suppose that's fine" she said submissively, "Are you leaving then?". Oishi nodded his head once.

"I will, goodbye, Okada-san" he said, before turning away and walking towards the stairs, and Okada just smiled softly and moved towards the staff lounge. Maybe she could get some coffee whilst she waited for her patient's visitor to leave.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Roko stared intently at the chess board in front of him, carefully deciding his next course of action. He had hoped to stay for around an hour or so, but he was now into an hour and a half and they still had plenty to do. When he had frankly ran out of pieces to play Yukimura had started digging out board games that the hospital provided to relieve boredom, though Roko had to wonder if the hospital even considered whether the patients here would be able to play a game designed for two people by themselves.

He carefully picked up his bishop and moved it across the board, placing it down after a moment's pause, and he looked up to Yukimura to make eye-contact. Yukimura smiled radiantly and just picked up his queen casually and moved it across the board, putting it only two squares from Roko's king, and he mentally groaned loudly.

"Check" Yukimura stated, and Roko's brow furrowed. What to do, what to do…

_Move your rook to A3_, his consciousness suddenly stated helpfully, and Roko mentally nodded and did what his consciousness ordered, and he could see Yukimura frown in thought. Sometimes it was very helpful having two separate minds working together, but most of the time it was a pain.

"Oh, interesting" Yukimura stated with a half-smile, moving his queen one square to the right and out of the way of the rook.

_Move the knight to C5_

Roko took his small piece and moved it onto the white square, eliciting another frown from Yukimura.

"You're good at this, Echizen" he stated.

_Thank you_, his consciousness replied, as if the question was directed at him. Yukimura didn't even know about him, but then again not many people did.

Yukimura moved his queen back, in order to save it from being taken.

_Move the bishop to G4_

Roko did exactly that, and then held up his hands for two simple signs.

"_Check-mate"_ his hands stated, and Yukimura frowned in annoyance, but then smiled amusedly.

"I had no idea you were so good at chess, Echizen" he stated, and Roko just rolled his eyes.

_You know this is practically cheating?_

_I wouldn't call it 'cheating'_

_Except this is kind of cheating_

"Echizen" Yukimura said once, and Roko looked up to him, "Do you plan on going home anytime soon?"

Roko frowned at his statement. Did he want him to leave? Roko noticed that he was half-gazing out of the window, and Roko turned in the direction and noted with shock how thickly the snow was falling outside.

Well, that was bad.

Roko frowned at the window, and immediately pulled out his phone and opened the internet.

"What are you going to do, Echizen?" Yukimura asked, but Roko just continued looking at his phone as he searched the timetables for the train, what he found was a long list of 'Cancelled', repeated over and over again. Roko twitched in annoyance, since it seemed his transport home wasn't working right now. Great. Roko just looked up and shook his head as an answer, and Yukimura frowned.

"Well I suppose you could stay at Sanada's, but you would have to call your parents first" he stated, and Roko frowned. Since he didn't have much of a choice at this point he complied and stood up, moving out of the room so he could text his dad.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Yukimura waited until Echizen had left the room, and in an instant his phone was in his hand and he was calling Renji. The phone picked up after two rings.

"Seiichi?" Renji asked curiously.

"Renji, I have wonderful news" Yukimura stated gleefully, and there was a pause.

"What is it?" Renji asked curiously.

"Echizen is here in Kanagawa" Yukimura stated. There was quite a long pause.

"Excuse me?" Renji asked unbelieving, only making Yukimura's smile grow.

"He came to visit me on the trains, but now the trains are all cancelled and Echizen cannot get back home, so he will likely be staying at Sanada's today and tomorrow as well, since the forecast predicts more snow tomorrow" Yukimura said all in one breath.

There was no answer on the other end, and Yukimura imagined Renji gaping in surprise.

"Renji" Yukimura stated carefully, "This is the best opportunity to celebrate Echizen's birthday. I am counting on you to organise this, and to make sure it all goes down well".

"I will make sure of it" Renji replied immediately, and Yukimura smiled widely.

"And one more thing Renji, Echizen enjoys playing chess" he said, before hanging up the phone and placing it back down on the table.

**Kanagawa General Hospital**

Oishi Akitaka sighed loudly as he re-entered the building when he had just left. The snow had come back and so his train had been cancelled, and so he couldn't go back home. He'd already called his wife to say he couldn't come home today, and he could just pay for a hotel room until the snow cleared up, but it was still morning and so he had nothing to do, so he was back here in the hopes of finding some sort of entertainment.

Maybe Okada-san was around, since she was good conversation at least, or maybe he could find some other nurses or doctors to talk to. He took the elevator up to the fifth floor where Okada-san worked, and the doors opened, and Akitaka was dimly surprised to see a short boy, around the age of twelve, standing by the window tapping the screen of his phone in the corridor. Akitaka remembered Okada talking about an Echizen visiting in the hospital, so this must be Echizen Ryoma, his nephew's teammate. Akitaka took a curious step forward, moving out of the elevator and towards the boy.

"Excuse me" he said politely, and the boy looked up to him, his brows furrowing in confusion, but he made no move to speak, and so Akitaka cleared his throat.

"Are you by chance Echizen Ryoma?" he asked politely, and he didn't fail to notice the irritation present on the boy's face for half a second before it disappeared. The boy shook his head in response, and Akitaka's face dropped.

"Oh, I'm sorry" he said hesitantly, "I'll just go then". He quickly walked away, avoiding the now awkward conversation and moved down the hall and hopefully towards the staff lounge on this floor.


	49. Meeting the Sanadas - Part 2

**Finally we are up to this point! I feel like it's taken forever, and we're still a third of the way through the plot.**

**But anyway, it's time for secret plotting!**

**(P.S. to the guest who reviewed, Echizen Ryoga will appear much later into the story)**

**Sanada Residence**

"So let's get straight to the point" Yanagi began, "Echizen is now stuck in Kanagawa today and tomorrow, giving us all the time we need to plan his birthday out".

The rest of the regulars minus Yukimura nodded in acknowledgement, since they had been filled in on the details before arriving.

"Good thing you told us" Marui chirped happily, "I would have wasted a good cake if I'd baked it today"

"Bunta, is cake all you think about?" Jackal asked with a roll of his eyes.

"No" Marui defended, "Sometimes I think about sweets and tennis". The entire room collectively rolled their eyes, before getting onto the topic at hand.

"So how are we doing this? Puri ~" Niou asked curiously. Yanagi nodded his head once and paused, as if scanning an invisible schedule.

"Since tomorrow will be New Year's Eve, we will begin the celebrations later in the day, likely after dinner" he began.

"Heh?" Kirihara asked suddenly, "Does that mean we'll get to see some fireworks?". There was a pause, in which Yanagi scanned his invisible schedule.

"I didn't think of that. Fireworks would be a nice addition" Yanagi said after a while.

"My family would never allow them" Sanada cut in quickly.

"Isn't the park having a public fireworks display?" Marui added, and Yanagi paused.

"That is a good idea, Marui; I can add that to the schedule". The team collectively frowned at Yanagi.

"Seriously? You have a schedule for this?" Niou asked incredulously, and Yanagi just looked at him flatly.

"Of course, therefore nothing can go wrong tomorrow" he stated evenly.

Though no one said a word afterward, it was clear that only Yanagi was convinced.

"Where is Echizen anyway?" Kirihara asked to break the silence.

"He went out to buy some tea" Sanada answered.

"Eh? But don't you have plenty of tea?" Marui asked curiously.

"We do" Sanada returned "But Echizen wanted a specific flavour of tea". Marui frowned at him.

"There are flavours of tea?" he asked, and Sanada just shook his head annoyed.

"By the way" Yagyuu suddenly said, grabbing the room's attention, "Why is Echizen's bag here?" he asked, pointing to the corner of Sanada's living room where the freshman's school bag sat.

"Ah, I forgot about that" Sanada said, moving towards the bag and picking it up. He then tossed it deftly across the room towards Jackal, who caught it on his lap with ease, and he looked up to Sanada curiously.

"Echizen brought you those" he explained, and Jackal frowned at the bag. Marui leaned over to it curiously, as if he was examining the contents within.

"Eh? What did he bring you?" he asked curiously. Jackal shrugged and opened the bag slowly, and his eyes widened when he noted the soft material inside. Marui just frowned at the contents.

"A blanket?" he asked confusedly, and the rest of the team frowned in confusion. Jackal though, was grinning like a cat at the black blanket, and pulled it out, marvelling at the soft material, and he put the bag down and draped it over himself in an instant. The rest of the team just stared at him stupidly as Jackal just nuzzled the soft material absent-mindedly.

"Anyway" Yanagi said in order to break the awkward silence, "Does anyone else have any suggestions for tomorrow?"

The silence that followed was answer enough, and so Yanagi nodded his head in confirmation.

"Good, everyone be here at 7:30 tomorrow" he stated finally, and everyone took that as a sign to leave. The team stood up and walked out of the room, minus Sanada who just watched Jackal with an annoyed scowl as he looked at the blanket he was embraced in thoughtfully.

"Jackal" he stated, "You cannot take it with you". Jackal turned to him immediately.

"But why?" he protested.

"Because Echizen will suspect something if he sees it missing" Sanada said without room for argument, "You can collect it from him properly tomorrow". Jackal gave a small whine of defeat but took Echizen's bag and put the blanket back in, and with much reluctance, he stood up and left the bag behind.

"Tarundarou" was the only thing that came to Sanada's mind.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

Strawberry and Kiwi…

Raspberry and Peach…

Blueberry and Apple…

Green Tea…

Hibiscus and Orange…

_So many choices_, Roko thought absently as he scanned the boxes again. In his search for tea that wasn't just green tea Roko had left Sanada's house to find some interesting flavours, like the tea he had at home. He'd stumbled across this tea shop – that was open for some reason – out of pure luck, and so he immediately singled out the best sounding flavours and was deciding between them. It was between blueberry and apple and raspberry and peach.

_You are unbelievable,_ his consciousness stated suddenly, and Roko rolled his eyes.

_Why's that?_

_You're here with your teammates in Kanagawa and instead of spending time with them you're here buying fruit-flavoured tea_

_I'll see them tomorrow so it doesn't matter, and besides they're probably planning out tomorrow right now, so I shouldn't disturb them_

_You're just making an excuse to buy tea_

_Of course, wouldn't you?_

_No, I hate tea_

Roko had to remind himself that his consciousness actually did not like tea, since he had different taste buds. It was weird how that worked, how they had opposite taste buds, but like many things about his consciousness Roko did not ponder it because it would just become complicated.

_You have no sense of taste_, he mentally retorted.

_At least I don't stuff my face with cake_

_I resent that_

Roko just smiled amusedly and shook his head. The conversations he had with himself – as weird as that sounded – were some of the most amusing he had, because he could speak his mind and he wouldn't be judged for it.

_Excuse me, _his consciousness interrupted, _I am judging you, don't treat me like I'm not real_

_Yes but your opinion isn't really valid since you're me_

_Surely if your own consciousness is disagreeing with you, then you're wrong?_

_No, you're just very opinionated_

_I am you, you know, so technically you're opinionated too_

Roko just rolled his eyes at his consciousness' failed attempt to gain the upper hand, and selected the blueberry and apple tea and moved to the counter to pay for the box. His mind was a very screwed up place.

**Sanada Household**

Roko tried not to smirk as he moved into the spare room he was staying in for the night. His cello case was dutifully sat against the wall next to the bed, and Roko lazily threw his open backpack onto the bed, placing the plastic bag next to it and pulling out the box of tea.

People may have thought that he was oblivious and stupid, but he wasn't, and it was clear that Jackal had not considered that when he stuffed the blanket back into his backpack rather than folding it neatly like Roko had done before-hand. Roko had informed Sanada that the contents was for Jackal, and since it had been opened Jackal must have been here, and if he was here so were the rest of the team, and if they were here then they were planning. Specifically, planning tomorrow. Though a creased blanket in his backpack wasn't much to go on, unless Sanada had opened it out of curiosity – which he would never do, since he's respectful of people's property – the only other person who could have opened it was the person it was intended for.

Roko just rolled his eyes in amusement.

Deciding to ignore this new factor, Roko took the box of blueberry tea and moved out of the spare room and into the kitchen. Thankfully no one was around, since Sanada and his grandfather were in the dojo at the moment, giving Roko some peace. Roko moved to the counter where a modern metallic kettle sat in the corner, and he smiled amusedly at how it completely stood out in the traditional Japanese household. He filled it with water under the tap and flicked the button, allowing the water to heat up. Roko turned to one of the cupboards and opened it, finding the ceramic cups he was looking for, and took one, setting it on the counter and opening the box of tea, placing one tea bag in the cup.

"Hello there, Echizen-kun" came a female voice, and Roko half-turned to the sound of the voice to see Sanada Masaki standing there with a soft smile. Roko nodded in acknowledgement to her, and Masaki crossed the room and opened the same cupboard and pulled out a ceramic cup for herself.

"Are you getting some tea as well?" she asked softly, and Roko nodded in response. Masaki looked over his shoulder and scanned the box with an interested glance.

"Hmm?" she half-asked curiously, "Blueberry and apple? You must like fruit tea, Echizen-kun". Roko just half-smiled at her as a response, and the kettle switch flicked off signalling the water was done, and Roko took the mismatched kettle and poured the water into the ceramic cup, mixing with the tea bag to form a blue-violet colour. He then handed the kettle to Masaki, who smiled warmly at him, pouring the water into the cup and dropping her own tea bag into it. She then opened another cupboard and took out two spoons, wordlessly handing one to Roko, who took it and stirred his own tea with it, and in unison they moved into the living room, placed their tea cups on the table and sat on their own cushions.

"So Echizen-kun" Masaki said softly, and Roko looked up from sipping his tea, which tasted really good.

"How did you end up here?" she asked, and Roko nodded in acknowledgement and put his cup down.

"_I visited Buchou in hospital, but the snow stopped the trains whilst I was visiting"_ his hands stated, and Masaki smiled softly.

"Ah, by 'Buchou', you must mean Yukimura-kun" she stated, and Roko nodded once.

"You're a nice person, Echizen-kun" she said with a warm smile, and Roko blinked in surprise. He'd never been called a nice person before, since his entire life revolved around 'mute boy', and 'the kid with the disease'. It was a nice change, and Roko gave a genuine warm smile at her in thanks. He decided he liked Sanada Masaki.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

'_Echizen enjoys playing chess'_

Renji moved through the aisles of the antique store quickly, hoping to find exactly what he was looking for. He remembered seeing the item when he had last visited this shop, and he frowned in concentration, trying to remember where he had seen it.

But despite his outward frown he was inwardly ecstatic. Whilst he wasn't exactly pleased that he needed help finding a gift in the end, he was glad that Seiichi did, because now he had the perfect idea. Finally he had a gift he could give to Echizen, after so much assessing of data and asking of questions in order to find something useful. He was going to flat-out ask Echizen what he liked today, but then Seiichi had turned around with this opportunity, and that one sentence that sparked a brilliant idea.

'_Echizen enjoys playing chess'_

The obvious answer to that was a chessboard, and so that was what Renji would buy. But not an ordinary chessboard, since he still decidedly peeved about the fact he had lost the race against Seiichi for a gift before it had even begun. So his gift must be more than good, it must be perfect. Money wasn't an object, since his parents both worked high-pay jobs that kept them away from home some days of the week, but Renji didn't mind.

He stopped when he saw exactly what he was looking for on a shelf in front of him, and he quickly moved towards the object and examined it. It was perfect, the exact object he had seen before. It was a polished black-and-white wooden chessboard with small sliding drawers underneath that held the chess pieces, and Renji opened the drawers curiously and smirked when he noticed the pieces were made of blown solid glass, including the black pieces, which shone like onyx in the light of the store. Renji checked the price and half-frowned. It was expensive, but not as much as it would be if it wasn't on sale.

Renji nodded to himself and closed the drawers, carefully picking up the rectangular box without hesitation and taking it towards the register.

**Echizen Household**

Ryoma sighed dramatically and stared up at the ceiling of his room from his desk chair. It was boring not having Roko around. Nanjiroh had come into his room earlier and announced that Roko was stuck in Kanagawa because of the snow, and Ryoma didn't know what to think.

On the one hand, he supposed it would be good for Roko to celebrate his birthday with his teammates like Ryoma had. It would be rather lonely if he just celebrated with him and their parents, and once again Ryoma was questioning why Roko decided to go to Rikkaidai in the first place.

On the other hand though, Ryoma really wanted to celebrate Roko's birthday, even if it was technically last week. It just felt like he was being selfish towards Roko, especially since he'd been dragged by his teammates to his own birthday party, so Ryoma felt like he should at least have some sort of contact with Roko.

Ryoma frowned, deciding he should probably contact Roko, and so he pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, already tapping on the screen.

_**Since you're being held hostage in Kanagawa, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday for tomorrow**_

_**From: Echizen Ryoma**_

Ryoma sighed and put his phone down, half-smiling despite himself. At least he could maybe have a conversation with Roko before he had to be with his own teammates.

His phone chimed almost immediately, and Ryoma smiled widely as he unlocked his phone.

_**Thanks, say hi to the mom and the old man for me**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Ryoma smirked, typing a reply quickly.

_**Have fun tomorrow with your teammates**_

_**From: Echizen Ryoma**_

His phone chimed a moment later.

_**That is if chaos doesn't erupt**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Ryoma chuckled slightly, since it was impossible for Roko's teammates to be any worse than his.

_**It won't be that bad**_

_**From: Echizen Ryoma**_

There was a long pause, and then his phone chimed again.

_**I think you're underestimating them**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

Ryoma just rolled his eyes at Roko's response.

_**Whatever, have fun**_

_**From: Echizen Ryoma**_

His phone chimed immediately.

_**You too, tell Karupin I miss him**_

_**From: Echizen Roko**_

**Sanada Household**

Sanada stared intently at the wooden target dummy, gripping his bamboo sword tightly as he gazed down at the dummy like a predator. In one swift movement he took a half-step forward and raised the sword before slamming it down on the target's head, giving a loud 'thunk' in protest, and Sanada immediately switched his angle to strike the dummy on its side, imagining it to be an opponent defending themselves. He continued like this, a swift and brutal onslaught of one strike after the other, not pausing for a moment, until he finally decided he had practiced enough today and stopped. He controlled his breathing and wiped the slight beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead with his forearm, before turning towards the sword rack on the wall and placing the bamboo sword back on the rack.

He turned back to the dummy, which he noticed with satisfaction had visible worn marks where he had repeatedly struck it on the head, and he picked the dummy up and carried it to the corner, setting it down carefully and breathing a sigh of relief as his practice was done. He turned towards the doorway, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Echizen sitting against the wall next to the doorway with an analytical expression. His knees were tucked into his chest and his gaze reminded Sanada of Yanagi when he was gathering data, his eyes going back and forth between Sanada and the dummy.

"How long have you been sat there for?" he asked bluntly, and Echzien just gave a false shrug of unknowingness that Sanada knew far too well from his time with the freshman. Echizen made no move to stand up, and so Sanada just walked up to him and offered a hand, which Echizen grabbed onto and Sanada pulled him up easily, and in that half-second he noted how light Echizen was. He was short and rather skinny for a first-year in middle school, but Sanada ignored that and just looked at him flatly.

"Why were you watching me?" he asked, and Echizen raised an eyebrow at him.

"_Am I forbidden to watch you practice?"_ his hands asked, and Sanada sighed in annoyance.

"It's not that" he stated, "But I would rather practice kendo in private". Echizen just looked at him for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement, and Sanada hid his surprise at how he did not protest.

"_It looked interesting"_ Echizen's hands stated suddenly and Sanada frowned.

"Kendo?" he asked rather stupidly, and Echizen nodded as a response. Sanada looked at him for a moment, and Echizen made more signs.

"_How long have you been learning it for?"_ his hands asked, and Sanada blinked. No one had ever taken an interest in kendo before, not even Yanagi and Yukimura.

"Since I was five" Sanada replied simply, and Echizen's lips turned into a soft smile, and Sanada frowned in confusion. What was he smiling for?

"Anyway" Sanada said to break the silence, "I'm going to take a shower, do you need anything?". Echizen simply shook his head, and Sanada took that as his cue to leave.

**Sanada Household**

Sanada Gen'emon stared at his cup of tea intently, as if it held answers within for his inner turmoil. For starters the blue-haired boy – although his hair was no longer blue, thankfully – had returned to their household in need of a place to stay, and before Gen'emon could have a word in the debate his daughter was already leading him to the spare room, which made him decidedly annoyed.

Though the child didn't interfere in any way, and frankly Gen'emon barely saw him, it still felt like a chore to keep him here. His grandson had explained he came here to visit Yukimura, but the snow had fallen later and stopped the trains. Gen'emon couldn't chastise him for being noble enough to visit Yukimura, but it was still irritating that he was now residing here rather than in his own home, due to his own foolishness.

"Father" came Masaki's voice, and Gen'emon looked up to her with a questioning look.

"You've been staring at your tea for two minutes now" she stated bluntly, and Gen'emon frowned as he realised she was correct.

_You're getting too soft_, he mentally scolded himself.

"What's wrong?" Masaki asked, and Gen'emon resisted a sigh of exasperation.

"I don't like the boy being here" he said flatly, but Masaki did not blink.

"You say that about everyone, Father, you just don't like people" she pointed out, and Gen'emon frowned at her choice of words.

"I simply prefer to lead a quieter life" he protested, trying to maintain the peace.

"If you want to lead a quieter life then it should be no problem for you considering you spend most of your time drinking tea and practicing in the dojo" she stated irritably, "You probably won't even see him most of the day". Gen'emon frowned, doing his best to hold in his annoyance, since he was in no mood to argue with his daughter.

"Father" she stated, her voice softening, "I think Echizen-kun is a nice person, and he is staying, so you might as well get used to it. He won't change your 'quiet lifestyle' in any way" she said, and Gen'emon noticed the acidic way the last few words rolled off her tongue. Normally he would scold Masaki for such behaviour, but he had long since realised that any sort of discipline against Masaki would never work, since the woman was as stubborn as an ox. He sighed loudly in defeat.

"Very well then" he stated defeatedly, and Masaki smiled and picked up her tea, and Gen'emon did not fail to notice the slight blur of black from the doorway before it was gone.


	50. It Begins

**I'm sooooooo sorry! Don't eat me! /O.O/ I know this is really late, because of the amount of PMs I got asking where chap 50 was, so I'd say that you were all quite impatient.**

**Just as a note, when Roko's birthday is over the new school term will begin, and that means tennis times are ahead, since everyone complained about how tennis is slowly not becoming a thing anymore.**

**Also, wow this is my 50th chap. Awesome. I mean really, you guys gave me wonderful reviews 3 I love your comments and responding to them.**

**But don't ever write 'please update soon'. That is bad, I will kill you if you do.**

**Okay? K.**

**Sanada Household**

Gen'emon knelt before his family's altar in quiet meditation, his legs folded and his arms on his lap sitting ramrod straight as he slowly inhaled and exhaled the scent of jasmine incense sticks. The boy was still here and it was bothering Gen'emon. He barely even saw him during his stay here, but Gen'emon still felt like his house was being intruded upon. Genichiro had been busy on the phone with his friends, plotting today, which was apparently the boy's birthday. Whilst Gen'emon agreed that his grandson was perhaps too stoic for someone his age, he did not like the fact that Genichiro was planning such things rather than practicing his kendo.

This child was bringing problems into Gen'emon's household, and he did not like that one bit. But he could not be rid of him either, because the child had nowhere else to go, and so he had to deal with it. Gen'emon slowly inhaled and exhaled, drawing in all his frustration and breathing it out in a small puff.

After several minutes of meditation Gen'emon decided he should get some tea, and so he quickly stood and turned to the doorway. He entered the kitchen quickly, and took the red metallic kettle with much distaste and filled it with water under the sink. He despised the metallic device, since it went against much of the traditional Japanese ways he was taught, but Masaki decided that to make tea a kettle was needed, and she bought the brightest and most modern kettle she could find. Gen'emon huffed in annoyance in the complete silence of his house. Genichiro had not left his room yet, probably still conversing with his friends over today. Masaki had gone out to buy some food, and Gen'emon couldn't care less where the boy was. The kettle began steaming, and Gen'emon took a ceramic cup from the cupboard and a tea bag and picked up the kettle, pouring the water and allowing it to mix with the tea bag.

Gen'emon stirred his tea with a spoon thoughtfully, and then removed the tea bag and left the spoon in the sink, moving into the dojo with his cup of tea. He would drink it, and then practice his kendo, maybe meditate further.

When he reached the doorway of the dojo he stopped and almost gaped in surprise when he discovered the dojo was occupied.

There was the mute child, sat on the cushion before his family's altar in meditation, he legs folded and his back perfectly straight. Gen'emon was lost for words, almost dropping his cup in surprise, and he quickly stopped himself from doing anything foolish. He wasn't sure what to do, and so he just watched the mute child meditating on the cushion.

**Sanada Household**

Roko had been curious what exactly Sanada's grandfather was doing. He had walked into the dojo to check if Sanada was in there, but he only saw the back of his grandfather, and Roko frowned curiously. He'd stepped into the dojo and took a seat on the floor in the corner of the room, and he didn't seem to disturb Sanada's grandfather, who did not move a millimetre.

Roko quickly realised that he was meditating, and he peered almost curiously forward, watching the old man in complete silence. It was so silent that he could hear the small, steady breaths of the man, and Roko had to wonder how on Earth he managed to sit like that in complete silence, not moving a millimetre. The man was like a statue.

Eventually the old man had stood up slowly and quickly left the room, not even noticing that Roko was sat there the entire time and he frowned in annoyance. Either he didn't notice him at all, or he just ignored him, but either way Roko quickly decided he didn't care. He stood up when Sanada's grandfather left the room, and moved toward the large stone tablet that he was meditating in front of before.

'_Sanada'_ was engraved onto the stone, and Roko narrowed his eyes analytically. Was this like a mural for Sanada's family? A memorial? It was a large square tablet resting on a small stone that held it upright, with incense sticks burning in small clay pots on either side, and Roko looked at the altar a moment longer before nodding to himself, and then turning to the cushion. Curiously he moved to it and sat down, recalling the position Sanada's grandfather was in: Back straight, legs folded and arms on lap.

Roko did just that, straightening his back and folding his legs, and closed his eye as he slowed his breathing.

He didn't know why but his head suddenly felt empty. There was nothing, no thoughts, no whispers of his conscience, it was just _void_. Roko was mildly surprised by it, but not as much as he expected, and he simply dismissed it and inhaled the scent of jasmine and slowly and softly exhaled his doubts and troubles, finding his centre instantly and complete quiet.

It wasn't like the deafening silence he had experienced most of his life, where he could not shout or scream or speak. This wasn't the torturous silence he had lived in and despised because of his own actions, this was a peaceful silence. It felt like he was drifting into sleep, and yet he was wide awake at the same time. He couldn't fully describe it, but he just felt peaceful.

_You're never this quiet,_ his consciousness noted, but Roko ignored it, breathing in and out slowly. Apparently the silence he had was only temporary.

_You can't get rid of me that easy,_ it stated.

Roko just focused on his breathing, doing his best to block out the voice in his head.

"You seem troubled"

Roko was surprised at how he wasn't even fazed by the sudden voice in the room, only opening his eye in response. He turned to the voice to find Sanada's grandfather standing in the doorway staring at him analytically, and Roko suddenly realised that what he was doing might be considered rude.

"Your breathing is all wrong" the old man stated, and Roko frowned at him. That was probably because the voice in his head wouldn't shut up.

"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly, and Roko suddenly felt awkward. He didn't think 'I was curious' was a good enough reason to just walk into his family's dojo and meditate while he was around.

'_Buchou wasn't around, and the dojo was empty' _his hands lied and the old man frowned.

"By 'Buchou', you mean my grandson?" he asked, and Roko nodded in response. That only caused him to frown deeper.

"Tch" he scoffed, "Tennis is such a meaningless sport, it has no value and is so unorthodox, and yet my grandson is obsessed with it. He even practiced his kendo relentlessly just to develop tennis moves"

Roko just looked at him passively, not giving him a single trace of the burning anger beneath his mask. The old man noticed this lack of response and leaned forward slightly.

"Why do _you _play tennis?" he asked intrudingly, "Do you play for the victory like my grandson?"

Roko frowned. Rikkaidai, as crazy as they were, was a team obsessed on winning, and it was their core principle. Absolute victory. But Roko didn't play tennis for the victory or for the joy of it, like Ryoma did. Ryoma had played in all the big tournaments like the Junior Grand Slam in America, whilst Roko couldn't bring himself to care, because he didn't care about big hot-shot tournaments like that. It was the main reason why reporters like the tennis journalist Inoue didn't have a clue who he was, because Roko always kept to himself.

That was because rather than playing tennis for the win, Roko played for the experience. He enjoyed losing more than winning, though that didn't mean he didn't put up a fight. He agreed losing was better, but losing after giving everything you had was the best kind of loss because of the experience that could be drawn from it. It was why he never held back, but it didn't mean he relentlessly pursued the win like the other Rikkaidai regulars.

'_I play for the fun and experience'_ his hands replied, _'A sport isn't interesting if you keep winning'_

The old man looked at him for a while and then nodded to himself.

"You have good principles" he stated, and for some reason Roko smiled softly, standing up from the cushion.

'_What did you mean when you said Buchou developed tennis moves from kendo?'_ his hands asked, and the old man scoffed.

"He calls it FuuRinKaZan" he stated nonchalantly, and Roko blinked at him in disbelief. The old man didn't notice his reaction and continued.

"He says he developed his kendo and began to use his tennis racket like a sword in order to mimic kendo movements" he stated, and Roko frowned at him.

'_How long did that take him?'_ his hands asked, and the old man narrowed his eyes.

"You plan to learn it?" he asked sharply, and Roko hesitated. Did he? Did he want to take his own captain's technique and use it against him? He wasn't a rival to him, but the idea of developing the FuuRinKaZan would be an opportunity.

"I can help you learn it if you wish" he offered, and Roko looked up sharply and his eyes widened. Was he offering to teach him the FuuRinKaZan?

"Though I can only show you the kendo movements" the old man quickly followed, "You'll have to develop them yourself, and to do that you must learn the basics of kendo". Roko frowned at him confusedly.

'_Why?'_ his hands asked simply, and the old man scoffed.

"My grandson may be pursuing to beat his rival, but he is only focused on one goal and one goal alone. He needs to understand that he must always have a goal, and so he must always have someone to beat" he stated nonchalantly, "Even if tennis is a ridiculous sport, I will not allow my grandson to play with such ridiculous ideals" he said, spitting the last few words as if they were a curse.

He then moved towards the rack on the wall without another word, selecting a bamboo sword and taking it swiftly, passing it to Roko who held it with both hands at the hilt like he remembered Sanada doing. Kendo was a sport where both hands were used.

"So you at least understand one thing" the old man noted, "Good, right foot behind the left and keep your elbows tucked in" he ordered bluntly, and Roko moved to do just that, the man kicking at his feet until they were in exactly the right position.

**Marui Household**

Bunta watched his cake rise in the oven with a very satisfied smirk. They were to meet at Sanada's for Echizen's birthday party in an hour and a half, which gave him plenty of time. After it was done baking for half an hour all that was left was to ice one half of the cake with blueberry jam, put the two halves together and ice the top with vanilla icing. Nothing fancy, just plain, because Bunta knew that Echizen liked simplicity.

Almost immediately he heard steps down the stairs, and as expected his brunette brothers appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Nii-san!" Koshiro cried excitedly, "You're making cake?"

"It's not for you" Bunta replied instantly, and their excited grins evaporated.

"What!?" Koshiro demanded in exasperation, and Bunta just rolled his eyes.

"It's exactly as I said. This cake isn't for you" he stated bluntly.

"Can we at least try some?" Shintaro pleaded, and Bunta's eyes narrowed.

"Don't you dare take a single bite out of this cake" he warned acidly, and the brothers practically recoiled at the weight of Bunta's threat, and in an instant they were gone. Bunta stared at the doorway for a moment and frowned. He'd been way too harsh, but the idea of them eating Echizen's cake was enough to make him worry, and suddenly he was feeling paranoid.

_What if they try to eat some of it?_ He thought.

Bunta sighed to himself, since he was allowing his brothers to get to him. As annoying as they were, he was sure they wouldn't defy his command.

But just in case, when Bunta pulled it out of the oven, he did not leave the cake alone for a moment until it was iced and in a plastic box, which he carried with him to his room and placed on his desk whilst he changed out of his flour-dusted clothes and into something more comfortable.

**Sanada Household**

Yanagi had arrived an hour earlier than planned in order to oversee the event. He had decided that absolutely nothing could go wrong tonight, and so he had come to make sure there would be no faults.

Of course decorations and such were not present, since Sanada explicitly forbade them. His mother and grandfather had used this event as an excuse to visit relatives, or maybe they just did it to give them space, but Yanagi didn't really care which.

He placed his neatly wrapped present on the table in Sanada's living room, glancing at it with a rather satisfied smirk as he left the room and moved into the kitchen where Sanada was sipping some green tea.

"You're being too serious about this, Yanagi" he stated bluntly, not even glancing at him, but Yanagi was not fazed.

"I believe it is you who is being too lax, Genichiro" he stated equally blunt, and Sanada just snorted.

"I don't suppose you had a schedule when you planned everyone else's birthday?" he asked, and Yanagi considered lying for a moment.

"No" he admitted with a shrug, "But this is different"

"How?" Sanada asked, still sipping his tea. It occurred to Yanagi immediately that he didn't really have an excuse, other than he was still bothered by how he had come last place in the Great Gift Race.

"It just is" he said after a pause, and Sanada rolled his eyes irritably.

"What about Yukimura's gift?" he asked suddenly.

"Akaya volunteered to pick it up" Yanagi returned easily, and Sanada frowned at him.

"And you trust him with it?" he asked, and Yanagi mentally rolled his eyes.

"Genichiro, I believe he can handle carrying a small packaged object from the hospital to your house. Have more faith in your teammates"

Sanada just grunted in response and sipped his tea, his reply clear in that movement and Yanagi just shook his head condescendingly.

"What about your gift?" he asked after a while.

"It's in a box" Sanada replied with a bored expression, "I want to make sure it doesn't break". Yanagi frowned at him for a moment.

"You never mentioned what your gift was, Genichiro" he stated intrudingly, but Sanada didn't even look at him.

"That's correct" he stated, sipping his tea.

"Then what is it?" Yanagi pressed curiously.

"You'll find out" Sanada returned immediately. Yanagi frowned further, but did not press the subject, since it was clear Sanada would not reveal what his gift was.

At that moment there was a loud knock on the door, and Yanagi glanced at Sanada for a moment before disappearing into the hallway. He moved to the door and opened it quickly, and immediately there was a black blur through the doorway and past Yanagi, and Yanagi shook his head.

"Hello to you too, Akaya" he said.

"Yanagi-senpai" Akaya said immediately, "Where is the radiator in this house?" Yanagi blinked confusedly at the question.

"In the kitchen" he said hesitantly, and immediately Akaya was moving. Yanagi just stood there stunned for a moment before closing the door, locking it and moving into the kitchen, finding Akaya crouched before the metallic radiator in the kitchen with a small package in front of him wrapped in black paper. Sanada was still sipping his green tea, not even acknowledging Akaya's presence.

"Akaya, what are you doing?" Yanagi asked curiously, and Akaya turned his head quickly.

"Buchou said I have to keep this warm" Akaya stated quickly, and Yanagi's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"What is it?" he asked.

"No idea" was the instant reply. Yanagi stood there and stared at the small package next to the radiator for a moment.

"It's probably a plant of some sort" he guessed, "Since Seiichi is that kind of person, and it makes sense that it would need warmth".

Akaya just nodded obediently, rising to his feet and quickly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a larger box, which Yanagi noted was wrapped rather messily.

"Where should I put this?" Akaya asked curiously.

"In the living room" Sanada stated from behind them, finally noticing Akaya over his tea. Akaya nodded once and moved into the room without hesitation.

"He's here early" Sanada noted when he was gone.

"He's probably just excited about this" Yanagi stated.

"Just as much as you?" Sanada asked curiously, placing down his empty cup of tea on the counter.

"Perhaps" Yanagi pondered, not even denying that he was excited.

In an instant Akaya was back in the room with a rather curious look on his face.

"Yanagi-senpai, where's Echizen anyway?" he asked, and Yanagi frowned.

"He went to buy more tea" Sanada answered, and Yanagi frowned at him.

"I mentioned that we have little green tea left" Sanada added, "So I asked him if he could go and buy some".

Yanagi raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Except the event starts in an hour" he pointed out, "It doesn't take an hour to buy tea"

"It does if the shop is twenty minutes away and Echizen can never decide on what tea to buy, since he will use this opportunity to buy a new flavour of fruit tea" Sanada stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Yanagi and Akaya just blinked at him.

"Genichiro, you really do know Echizen well" Yanagi stated rather shocked. Sanada just faintly blushed and looked at the wall.

"Shut up…" he muttered.

**Downtown Kanagawa**

Several things occurred to Roko in one moment.

The first being was that Sanada had tricked him and manipulated his weakness for tea to make sure he was out of the house, sending him to buy some green tea. Roko had planned to buy his own flavour, which he would always spend at least ten minutes deciding on, before either buying one flavour or both.

The second thing was that he had stood in an empty tea shop for the last ten minutes deciding on Raspberry and Orange flavour or Strawberry and Kiwi, when the obvious answer was both, so he had successfully wasted ten minutes on top of the twenty minutes it took to get here.

The third thing he realised that it would take another twenty minutes to get back to Sanada's house, giving the other regulars plenty of time to prepare for his birthday, all according to Sanada's genius plan.

And how exactly did he know this?

Only because he had stepped out of the tea shop with a new plastic bag with three new boxes of tea including the green tea, and if Marui and Jackal had been paying attention they would have noticed the fact that Roko was standing on the other side of the street watching them carry suspiciously wrapped boxes towards the direction of Sanada's house.

And then it hit him: He had been completely manipulated by Sanada.

Damn, he was crafty.

Roko mentally sighed in annoyance as he realised how well Sanada had played his cards, and honestly he had to give him credit for it.

But on the topic of his not-so-apparent birthday celebration, since Marui and Jackal had just passed him they would be the latest, and if Roko walked at his normal pace he would easily overtake them ensuring their lateness. So as more of a moral obligation Roko had to hang around and be late to his own birthday party since the two across the street were being slow.

He mentally sighed in annoyance again. He could waste a good five minutes if he took the long way around.

**Sanada Household**

Jackal breathed a loud sigh of relief as they finally reached Sanada's house. If it wasn't for the fact that Bunta had decided to buy some gum on the way there they probably would have been on time.

The instant they knocked on the door it was yanked open by an apparently very impatient Yanagi.

Instead of giving some sort of statement on how late they were he moved and allowed them in, and the two understood and moved into the house quickly.

"He'll be here soon" were Yanagi's only words, which of course made Jackal only more anxious as he hastily removed his jacket and shoes, moving into the living room in an instant. The other regulars were lounging around in a somehow anxious way, and they all looked up sharply to the two.

"You're late" Niou stated flatly.

"We know" Jackal replied immediately, not even bothering to blame Bunta, this wasn't the time for that. They both moved to the centre of the room and placed their gifts on the table, and then both sat down, Yanagi entering the room and following suit.

"What were you doing that had taken so long?" Sanada asked irritably.

"I had to buy some gum" Bunta stated casually before Jackal could stop him, and as expected he could practically see the irritation on everyone's faces, though some more than others didn't express it.

"You went to the store to buy your stupid _gum_?" Niou asked sharply, and Bunta snapped his neck towards him.

"Oi, my gum is not dumb" he argued irritably.

"It is when you waste your time when this is so important" Niou returned.

"We're here on time aren't we?" Marui asked sharply, and the two glared at each other. Jackal tried to break them up but he was promptly ignored by both of them.

"Well next time you shouldn't buy your stupid gum and make everyone worry, fat ass" Niou mocked.

_Oh no_

Jackal froze and watched in horror as Bunta's eyes lit up with a sudden maniacal fire, and he knew what was coming next.

"Bunta…" he muttered, in an attempt to direct his attention away, but he was ignored again.

"You did _not_ just call me fat" Marui spat viciously. Jackal shuddered. Niou just smiled widely like a cat.

"So what if I did, fat ass?" he asked.

And without further ado Bunta was flying through the air, his arms reaching forward prepared to strangle Niou as he covered half the room in an instant.

**Sanada Household**

Never in Roko's wildest dreams had he imagined coming back to Sanada's to find Marui strangling Niou with everyone in the room shouting and trying to rip Marui off of him, who held onto Niou's neck like it was a lifeline.

So he was pretty stumped on what to do next, either to walk in and end the fight on an extremely awkward note, or do nothing.

He quickly decided to do nothing, taking off his jacket and shoes, and moved to the kitchen on the opposite side of the house, none of them even noticing his presence. Over the sounds of strangled cries and shouting Roko placed down his plastic bag, taking the green tea box and putting it in the shelf where the tea boxes stayed, before pulling out his own box of Strawberry and Kiwi tea, opening it quickly and taking a tea bag and a ceramic cup from the cupboards.

He filled the kettle with water and flicked the button, waiting patiently for the water to boil as he amusedly listened to the sounds of Niou being choked to death. Though Roko had since decided that he was overreacting when he nearly killed Niou twice, he felt a sweet sense of justice in hearing his near-death cries.

The water boiled and Roko took the kettle nonchalantly and poured it into the cup, dropping the tea bag into it and stirred it thoughtfully with a spoon as it turned a deep shade of red.

He looked up when he noticed that Sanada had moved into the kitchen, mumbling to himself and rubbing his temples rhythmically, and Roko smiled amusedly. He must put up with a lot of pain from the team.

Sanada looked up, noticing the fact that Roko was standing in his kitchen stirring his tea, and he froze instantly.

"Echizen…" he muttered in shock, and Roko just put a finger to his lips, ordering him to be silent, which he understood instantly and nodded, moving towards the counter like nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry about their behaviour" he said quietly, taking the box of green tea Roko had bought and his own ceramic cup, picking up the boiled kettle and making his own tea. Roko just nodded understandingly at him, and Sanada caught the look and scowled.

Roko took his brewed cup of tea and moved out of the kitchen and into the hallway, peeking around the door. Some order had been maintained, most of the team were sitting down casually, but Niou scowled with his arms folded in the corner with red marks around his neck, much to Roko's amusement. Jackal was comforting Marui in another corner, who was muttering inaudible things under his breath, and there were many colourful boxes stacked in the centre of the room on the table, which had surprisingly not been disturbed in Marui's brief temper tantrum.

Roko just rolled his eyes and stepped into the room.

Everyone froze immediately at the sight of him, to his infinite amusement.

"Echizen…" Yanagi muttered in the same manner Sanada had.

Roko decided this would be an appropriate time to sip his tea and look totally casual about the fact he had practically crashed his own birthday party.

_Idiots._


	51. New Year

**I am so lazy it's unbelievable. But art homework is taking over my life so that sucks too.**

**Anyway, writing this chap gave me good feels, between my extensive tumblr breaks.**

**I swear it went: One sentence, tumblr, come back to story, stare at it, tumblr, repeat.**

**Anyway, enjoy guys! **

**Sanada Household**

Roko mentally sighed as he was practically forced against his will. He shouldn't have been surprised really, since he had probably created the most awkward moment in history when he casually stepped into Sanada's living room, but the fact he was almost dragged to sit down by Kirihara in front of the table of presents, buying the group time to collect themselves, he had to wonder if maybe he should have been more subtle.

By this point everyone seemed to have recovered, most of them smiling eagerly and saying 'Happy Birthday Echizen'. Sanada had entered the room with a cup of green tea and sat opposite Roko on the table, just nodding his head in acknowledgement; he didn't expect any more from Sanada anyway.

"Echizen!" Kirihara called excitedly, "You should open our gifts!" he ordered, and Roko just smiled amusedly. It seemed he would be held against his will the entire night, not that he minded, as long as he had some cake and tea. Before Roko could respond with a nod Kirihara had already selected a crudely wrapped box from the pile and handed it to him – definitely Kirihara's gift - wrapped in dark blue paper, and Roko put his cup of tea down on the table and took the box with a nod of thanks. He didn't fail to notice how most of the group collectively frowned at how Kirihara took his gift first, but no one said a word, and Roko mentally rolled his eyes.

He tore the paper quickly, immediately noting the fact that it was held together with a lot of tape, but it wasn't an issue. When he removed the paper he turned the back of the box and he smiled widely at the sight of the blue power weights. They had specially designed pockets to hold iron bars and could hold a maximum of 5kg in each weight. This would be perfect for his stamina training in tennis, and Roko knew he would definitely use these in the near future. He turned to Kirihara and nodded in thanks with a wide smile, and Kirihara smiled widely back.

Roko turned back to the pile of colourful boxes inquisitively, and since it seemed no one would volunteer to hand him their gift, Roko just took the first one he saw from the pile, a large rectangular box wrapped in black paper. He immediately noticed Jackal's wide smile from his seat next to Sanada, and Roko decided it was his gift. He tore the paper quickly, interested to see what Jackal had bought him.

Once the paper was removed Roko knew what was inside the rectangular cardboard box, since it was rather obvious. He smiled softly, since he'd been planning to buy some new tennis shoes anyway, and he lifted the lid of the box. He noted immediately that the tennis shoes were black and yellow like the colours of the Rikkaidai uniform with a black stitched lightning bolt on either side of both shoes.

_A black lightning bolt_, Roko noted amusedly. Definitely a deliberate choice, since it fit so appropriately.

He turned to Jackal, who was smiling widely at him, and he nodded in acknowledgment and made signs with his hands.

"I like the black lightning bolt" Sanada translated, and Jackal smiled wider.

"I thought it would be perfect" he explained, and Roko shared his smile, nodding in thanks again, closing the lid and looking back to the table. Without really glancing at the pile he took a smaller wrapped gift from the pile, wrapped neatly in red paper.

"That's Hiroshi's gift" Niou noted from next to Roko, and Roko turned to Yagyuu with a slight smile, and Yagyuu just nodded politely.

"I hope you like my gift, Echizen-kun" he replied politely, and Roko nodded. He lifted the paper, noting how neatly the corners were folded and held down with tape and tore away the paper slowly, seeing the cover of a paperback book immediately and smiling. He'd expected something like that from Yagyuu. The title page of the book had a snow-white lily flower on the front that was stained with spots of red. Roko smiled as he picked the details from it: Innocence corrupted by blood. He would enjoy this book. He turned back to Yagyuu and smiled widely, nodding in thanks, and Yagyuu nodded in response.

Roko then turned back to his pile of gifts – which he noted was short of one or two boxes – and stared at it inquisitively. Niou seemed to notice his glance and leaned forward with a grin.

"The blue one" he advised, and Roko frowned at him before scanning the table for the so-called 'blue one', immediately noticing a long tube of blue wrapping paper, and he took it curiously and looked at it for a moment. It was a long tube, about two feet long, wrapped thinly, and Roko noted how light it was.

_Probably a poster or something, _Roko decided, and he tore the paper, his suspicions immediately confirmed when he saw the black paper within. Roko just grabbed the poster and pulled it out of the paper rather than tearing up the wrapping paper, experimentally turning the packaged poster to see if he could find some sort of logo, but it was all black and grey paper.

"What is it?" Marui asked curiously, leaning forward from his seat at the table. Roko shrugged unknowingly and removed the plastic wrapping on the poster, noting the size of Niou's grin as he did. He unravelled it slowly and when the poster was out of the wrapping he pulled the corner, stretching the poster to its full length.

'Breaking Benjamin' was printed on the bottom in big letters, and Roko smiled widely. It was a poster of their newest album cover, which one of Roko's most favourite albums. This would go great on his wall.

"Eh?" Kirihara asked curiously, "What's that thing?"

"It's a poster, Bakaya" Marui stated casually, and Kirihara's gaze snapped to him.

"I know that, Marui-senpai" he snapped, "I meant what's the thing on it"

"A person" Marui stated without blinking, and Kirihara narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Roko just watched the scene amusedly.

"Enough" Sanada stated irritably, and just like that the amusement was gone, and Roko rolled his eyes. He turned to Niou and smiled softly at him, who did not seem at all perturbed by the fact the person who nearly killed him twice was sat right in front of him, and returned the smile.

**Sanada Household**

Yanagi frowned in annoyance as his invisible schedule went up in invisible flames. He wasn't exactly pleased that the timetable for today had been changed so drastically by Akaya's sudden intervention, but he knew that Akaya had done the right thing in that situation, so he couldn't denounce him for it. In fact it was rather the opposite, he was happy that Akaya had managed to save the group from an even more awkward and embarrassing moment, and he was in the midst of reassessing his data.

He had not seen Echizen come in, and Yanagi had been listening and paying attention the entire time due to his inward demand for his schedule to run smoothly. That was interrupted when Marui had a brief temper tantrum over his weight. Marui wasn't exactly insecure, but the suggestion of him being fat had been heard many times over the years, and with the addition of Sanada scolding Marui for eating too many sweets, Marui had become decidedly conscious.

Actually, yes, he was just insecure, but insecure to the extent of strangling someone. So something more like an anger management issue. But then again, the entire team had their own social issues, since no one in Rikkaidai Fuzoku was deemed normal, so Yanagi decided to let the matter drop.

But on the topic of Echizen's appearance, he must have entered the house during Marui's attempt to murder Niou. There were several problems with that, the first being that Yanagi had locked the door. Or so he thought, but for this to have happened he must have forgotten in his haste. The second problem was that if Echizen had entered, he must have seen Marui's temper tantrum, and had simply ignored it. That wasn't really a problem, but it was more of an annoyance that no one had noticed him when he had looked into the doorway.

Yanagi just mentally sighed and went along with it, since things were going smoothly so far, even if there was no structure to it.

After Echizen had unrolled the poster and smiled widely at it – Yanagi had no idea what was on the poster that was making Echizen smile so, since it was printed in English, he'd have to add that to his data – and thanked Niou for it, he looked back to the pile curiously.

"Pick the silver one, Echizen" Marui chirped suddenly, and Yanagi frowned at his bluntness.

Echizen glanced and Marui and nodded once, taking a rather large box wrapped in silver paper from the table. Yanagi stared at the box, since he knew what was inside, but it was rather odd that Marui had wrapped it. Perhaps it was for the added effect of surprise.

Echizen tore the silver paper quickly, and Yanagi immediately saw the transparent plastic beneath the paper, and Echizen frowned, tearing more of the paper curiously, whilst Marui grinned like a cat. The last of the paper was removed, and as Yanagi expected it was a large transparent plastic box with an iced and layered sponge cake inside. It was simple, two sponges with white icing and blue jam in the middle, but Echizen was never the type for complex things.

Yanagi's slight smile faltered when he noticed the size of Echizen's eager grin and how his eye glittered at the sight of the cake. Marui laughed amusedly at the sight, and most of the table smirked amusedly, minus Sanada of course, because he was far too stoic. Marui's cake seemed to have made Echizen very happy, since he was still staring at the thing, and it made Yanagi wonder if perhaps his gift would not be the best. He'd wanted his gift to be the absolute best of the group in order to make up for his terrible lateness, but it seemed Marui's was currently in the lead.

Yanagi did not like that one bit, and he held back a frown.

Marui laughed some more when Echizen eventually put down the cake box.

"I knew you'd like it" he stated amusedly, and Echizen turned to him and smiled softly, nodding his head in thanks. Marui returned it with his own nod of acknowledgement, the large grin never leaving his face.

Echizen turned back to the pile, which only had one gift remaining: Yanagi's.

"Eh? Aren't we missing a few?" Akaya asked curiously, and Yanagi nodded.

"Genichiro's and Seiichi's" he stated flatly, and everyone glanced at Sanada, whose stoic mask did not falter.

"I'll go and get my gift" he stated bluntly, standing up and moving out of the room quickly. Akaya was on his feet immediately.

"I'll go get Buchou's!" he exclaimed before moving out of the room quickly and excitedly, and the group frowned.

"Yukimura got a gift too?" Marui wondered out loud.

"Of course he did, why wouldn't he?" Niou asked flatly from next to Echizen, and Marui turned to him visibly irritated.

"Well I figured he couldn't because he's in hospital" he protested and Niou frowned. Yanagi knew immediately by the half-second silence that a very touchy boundary had been crossed.

"He isn't dying Bunta" Jackal added softly, in order to lighten the mood, "He can buy a gift for Echizen you know".

Yanagi glanced at Echizen, curious about his reaction. To his surprise Echizen did not seem as bothered by Marui's statement as the rest of the team, looking as passive as usual as he watched the exchange. Yanagi supposed he had barely talked to Yukimura, so it made sense. The rest of the team, him and Genichiro especially, had known Yukimura for a long time, but Echizen had known him for about a week, during which they didn't really talk much, aside from one or two one-sided conversations.

But then again Echizen had gone to Yukimura when he was attacked by the school and cried on him. As much as Yanagi hated to admit it, none of the team had really gotten over that. They each expressed their anger in their own ways, and whilst people like Yagyuu were quieter about the situation, Sanada and Akaya were ready to tear the school apart. Marui, Niou and even Jackal were also very angry, but instead of mentally scarring people for life, they had used that anger as motivation to track down Echizen's assaulters.

Perhaps Echizen cared about Yukimura as much as the rest of the team. He had visited him and risked being stuck in Kanagawa – which Yanagi was very glad he did – and he had kept him company for nearly two whole hours.

Akaya entered the room, snapping Yanagi from his thoughts immediately. Akaya was carrying Yukimura's gift: a small rectangular box wrapped neatly in black paper, about one foot tall, and with a small bow on the top. He moved towards the table and carefully placed the gift on it.

"This is Buchou's gift, Echizen" he advised, before moving to his seat next to Echizen. Echizen looked at the object for a while curiously, and the table shared his expression.

Almost immediately afterward Sanada entered the room, carrying a cardboard box. Yanagi immediately frowned at him, since the box wasn't even wrapped.

"I didn't want to break it" Sanada explained bluntly when he noticed Yanagi's expression. He also put his box down on the table, which was notably larger than Yukimura's and Yanagi's, and then took his own seat opposite Echizen. Echizen raised an eyebrow at Sanada, and then glanced at the three objects placed in front of him.

He reached and took Yanagi's gift first, and Yanagi allowed himself a soft smile. His gift was a large rectangle wrapped neatly in white paper, and Echizen looked at it for half a second before looking up at Yanagi. Yanagi could tell he knew who the gift was from, and he was mildly surprised at how he had figured it out.

"Whose is that?" Niou asked curiously.

"That's Yanagi-senpai's" Akaya responded instantly, and the table glanced at Yanagi, who just nodded once.

"I hope you like it, Echizen" he said with a lot less conviction than he had. He really did have hope that he liked it, since his gift was entirely based on Yukimura's word and with no real evidence. Echizen just nodded in response and tore away the paper without haste. Yanagi involuntarily frowned as the paper was slowly torn away.

Echizen removed one side of the paper and pulled out the object curiously, and Yanagi felt his anxiety lift somewhat at how Echizen's eye lit up.

"A chess board?" Akaya wondered out loud, peering at the object. The rest of the table shared his glance, and Yanagi just looked at Echizen to gauge his reaction. Echizen looked at the board with a soft smile, his hand sliding to the drawer on the side like Yanagi hoped, and he slid it open. His eye widened slightly as he reached in and took out a small chess piece, blown solid black glass, and ran his fingers in the grooves experimentally with an amazed expression. Yanagi internally smirked in victory, since Echizen looked like he loved it. He'd chosen well, even if he didn't technically choose it.

"That is a beautiful chess board" Yagyuu said evenly, looking at it intently, and Yanagi felt himself visibly smirk in triumph.

Echizen looked away from the piece and to Yanagi, and he put it back in the drawer, making signs with his hands. Yanagi and the rest of the table glanced curiously at Sanada, whose expression had not changed from its stoic expression.

"He says he loves it" Sanada stated evenly and somehow bored, but Yanagi ignored that and mentally smiled widely, turning back to Echizen.

"I am glad you like it, Echizen" he said with utter conviction. Echizen nodded in thanks, smiling softly at him before putting the board down and looking at the last two gifts in front of him. Yanagi also looked at the two gifts curiously. One was from Yukimura, small and wrapped daintily in black paper, the other was from Sanada, a rough cardboard box not even wrapped.

After a while Echizen reached and took Yukimura's gift, to Yanagi's surprise, and started to slowly tear the paper. Everyone leaned forward curiously excluding Sanada, who simply sat there with a bored expression. The object was small so almost immediately Echizen had removed the paper, and Yanagi almost gasped at the object.

It was a blue cactus. A _blue cactus_. He stared at the plant incredulously, expecting some sort of flower, but not such a strange and beautiful cactus, everyone sharing his incredulous expression. Echizen just stared at the object for a while, blinking once to make sure it was actually there, before he smiled ever so softly, and Yanagi felt his pervious triumphant position in the Great Gift Race crumble. Yukimura had made a very good choice, a small but beautiful and elegant cactus with such an unusual colouring.

"I didn't know blue cacti existed" he noted out loud, and the team nodded in agreement.

"I knew" Jackal said suddenly, and everyone turned to him curiously, "They come from Brazil". Yanagi frowned at him for a moment, turning back to the plant and continued to examine it. He supposed if it originated from Brazil then Jackal would know about it, but if it did the plant would need to be kept warm, though that wouldn't really be much of a challenge.

Yanagi decided. The soft smile on Echizen's face and the slight spark in his eye; he had lost the Great Gift Race.

Echizen looked at the gift once more before putting the small plant down on the table, looking at it appreciatively, before looking to the final gift: Sanada's.

Sanada reached and pushed the box towards Echizen casually, much to Yanagi's surprise.

"Enjoy" he said simply, and the team collectively sweat dropped at his lack of formalities. Echizen rolled his eyes and took the box with a nod, opening the lid of it. Yanagi peered slightly forward to get a better view of it, but he could see nothing but styrofoam pellets. However he did note how Echizen was looking into the box with wide eyes, which meant he had a view of the object. Niou and Akaya, who were sat on either side of him, leaned toward Echizen to get a better view of the object, and they both frowned curiously.

"What is that?" Akaya asked curiously, only making Yanagi more curious.

"Not sure" Niou replied, also staring at the object, and Echizen smiled softly and reached into the box, grasping the object within and pulling it out. Yanagi's frowned when he finally had a view of the object, which Echizen placed carefully on the table and put the box on the floor.

"A teapot?" Yagyuu wondered out loud.

A teapot. A fairly large blown semi-transparent glass tea pot with a dainty spout and handle. Yanagi cocked his head at the object curiously. This was Genichiro's gift? He'd expected something more… interesting. The rest of the room looked at the object curiously, and the silence lasted for a while.

Echizen looked up to Genichiro and made signs with his hands, and Yanagi frowned, as did the rest of the team. Genichiro's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he hesitated before replying.

"You do?" he asked hesitantly, and Yanagi turned back to Echizen, noting the soft and warm smile on his face. Did Echizen really like the gift? Why? It was just a glass teapot, you could buy them anywhere.

Echizen made more signs with his hands. Genichiro hesitated again.

"Of course"

And Echizen was suddenly gone, and everyone blinked at how he suddenly disappeared like that.

"EH?" Akaya cried, "Where'd he go?"

"I've never seen Echizen move so fast" Yagyuu noted, completely ignoring Akaya.

Yanagi turned to Genichiro curiously.

"What did you say to him?" he asked, genuinely curious. Genichiro just looked at him flatly despite his previous hesitation, and the team collectively leaned forward.

"Just wait" were Genichiro's only words. Yanagi frowned, but nodded.

As if almost on cue Echizen reappeared, holding a kettle and a box of tea bags, and Yanagi's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Eh? What are you doing, Echizen?" Akaya asked curiously, but Echizen didn't even glance at him, opening the box and dropping a single tea bag into the pot, and then took the kettle and poured the boiling water into the pot. Yanagi just watched as the water turned a misty colour of purple, gradually darkening, and the colour started to almost spread outwards.

Yanagi's curious gaze faltered as he realised that the colour was _spreading outwards_. As in the glass was almost changing colour to match the tea. The content of the pot was dark purple, whilst the glass was slowly dimming into a lighter shade of purple like a mist.

Yanagi just stared incredulously at how the teapot changed colour, everyone else seeming to have similar gazes of incredulousness.

"The light in the teapot is being refracted by the glass" he stated suddenly, keeping his gaze locked on the teapot.

"Eh? What does that mean?" Marui asked curiously.

"Specialist glass that refracts the light rays around the teapot to give off the illusion that the glass is changing colour" Yanagi stated, and half-glanced at Genichiro from the corner of his eye, "Similar to stained glass, but this is a rare and difficult glass to make, and so it is expensive"

Genichiro pointedly ignored him, looking at Echizen, who was staring at the teapot with the widest smile Yanagi had ever seen Echizen make. He almost looked like a child at Christmas in that moment.

Yanagi frowned as his now questionable first position in the Great Gift Race was promptly ripped from him. This was definitely the best gift by far.

**Sanada Household**

Sanada gave a mental sigh of relief at Echizen's smile. It felt like he hadn't taken a breath for hours, since he had doubted whether his gift would be feasible. He didn't understand why he was anxious about it, but he was, and the sight of Echizen's wide smile as he watched the glass change colour made Sanada feel so relieved he almost gave an audible sigh of relief, but he would never do that of course.

When he had read up on it, Sanada was convinced that such a glass was not real and it was just a scam. But no, it was real; a glass that refracted light in such a way it turned a faint colour, resembling a mist. It was technically stained glass, but since stained glass involved mixing metals to make their colours, it was different when it was to be colourless. In essence, it was white glass, and white glass was difficult to make because tin oxide had to be mixed with the molten glass. The reason that was difficult was because if the temperature was too high, the compound in the glass would soften and make the glass too opaque. If it was too low then the compound would not mix properly and green flecks would appear. Only proper glassblowers could make it, and so it was rare.

There were several drawbacks however, the first being that the glass was difficult to replicate, and so it was expensive. The second was that even if it could refract the light, it was still glass, and so most of the light rays were lost, and so the misty colour could only appear if a dark colour was used. That meant that only dark teas like the fruit tea Echizen often drank could replicate the colour.

Which made it perfect for Echizen. Sanada knew that he preferred to drink fruit tea rather than green tea. It wasn't that he didn't like green tea, but Echizen liked to try different flavours of tea and experiment. It was a rather odd hobby to have, but Sanada didn't really consider it one, since it gave him the best opportunity for a gift.

And after seeing the look of awe mixed with a genuine warm smile on Echizen's face, Sanada could say he had succeeded.

"Is this stuff real?" Akaya asked incredulously, still looking at the teapot.

"It is" Sanada answered, understanding his question, "But it's rare and very fragile"

Echizen looked up at him and cocked his head at a slight angle, and Sanada could tell from that one gesture that Echizen was concerned about how much it had cost.

"It's fine" he stated bluntly, "I could afford it, and that's what's important".

"Genichiro" Yanagi said, looking at him peculiarly, "I've never seen you so caring before"

Sanada glared at him annoyance, but Yanagi's gaze did not falter. Did he really have to put it like that?

"Anyway" Yanagi said, turning back to Echizen, "Shall we move on? We were planning to watch a movie, if you're interested?" he offered, and Echizen cocked his head at the slightest angle curiously before nodding.

**Sanada Household**

Jackal smiled softly as he absent-mindedly shifted into Echizen's blanket. He'd been joking when he asked Echizen to bring a blanket if he visited Kanagawa, but the fact that he actually did was rather touching to him.

Of course, the fact that Echizen refused to yield it to him without sharing the blanket kind of took away the touching atmosphere, but Jackal didn't mind. He was pretty short anyway, so he didn't take up much of the blanket, and it also helped that Echizen was curled up into a ball on the sofa, taking even less of the blanket. Jackal had to wonder how he could be comfortable curled up like that, but Echizen seemed fine, and so he left it. They were practically touching with how close they were sat together, which made him feel kind of awkward, but if Echizen even noticed he didn't show it.

They were seated on the large sofa in Sanada's second living room. That's right, his second living room. It was located at the back of the house, and was a much more family-based living room than the Japanese-themed room with just a table and cushions. It had plain cream-coloured walls, a small oak coffee table, the large sofa, a TV and two smaller arm chairs. The room was decorated with framed pictures of the family on the walls, and generally had a more relaxed feeling to it.

Jackal wasn't entirely sure why they had a second living room, but if he had to guess it was because of Sanada's mother, who was a lot less stoic than the rest of the Sanada family. Jackal supposed he'd want a more family-based atmosphere if he lived in such a traditional house as well, and the fact that the only person who could stop her was her aging father; it was pretty much the perfect opportunity.

Jackal was cuddling into the blanket with Echizen almost cuddling into him, with Yanagi and Sanada also sat on the sofa. Niou and Yagyuu took up the two armchairs, and Kirihara and Bunta sat on the floor uncaringly.

As for the movie they were watching, it was a new action movie that had released recently. It was called 'Underworld', based on the Yakuza criminal gang and the main character was a spy planted in the gang by the Japanese police, intent on shutting down the gang. It was pretty racy and there wasn't any real plot to it, but Jackal didn't mind, and Niou, Marui and Kirihara seemed to like it a lot. Yanagi and Yagyuu were too expressionless and polite to express dislike for the movie, and Sanada was just… Sanada. Echizen didn't seem to mind it either, watching it with his passive expression, but Jackal could see the slightest smile from the corner of his lips.

He turned back to the film, watching it with his own soft smile.

The main character, as totally expected, had been discovered by this point in the movie as a spy, and was currently running for his life through the streets with the occasional sound of a gun shot behind him. He kept running and running for a while, until another guy appeared in front of him, again as expected. Kirihara and Bunta gasped lowly, and Jackal just rolled his eyes. The guy raised a gun and pointed it at the main character, who moved quickly and knocked the gun out of his hands. They ended up wrestling on the ground for a while before the main character was knocked against the wall, and the other guy stood over him with a knife raised.

And then the assailant's chest erupted as a bullet went through him.

He grasped his chest and gasped once before he fell to the ground dead, and the camera panned to his dead and lifeless body.

Jackal felt a nudge on his arm, and he turned curiously to see Echizen snuggling into his torso whilst still staring at the screen, his one visible eye wide in fear. Jackal immediately realised that they had forgotten Echizen's haemophobia, and he stared sympathetically at him for a moment before he looked up and opened his mouth to speak.

He immediately felt a sharp rap on his side, and he flinched and looked back down at Echizen, who sent him a look that communicated a single word: 'Don't'. Jackal frowned at him, and Echizen just moved closer into his torso, and Jackal understood what Echizen wanted from him. He wrapped one arm around Echizen comfortingly, and Echizen leaned into him and smiled ever so softly, looking back at the blood on the screen with an impassive expression.

How could they have forgotten about his fear of blood? Jackal suddenly felt extremely guilty, having never even considered that one big factor. He didn't know what to say, and he really wanted to say something, but it was clear that Echizen didn't want him interrupting the film. Maybe it was because he didn't want the film to end for the other who were enjoying it – some more than others.

Jackal decided he should ignore it and just watch the movie like nothing had happened, Echizen wrapped comfortably in his arm. It was easy to forget that he was just a kid, and Jackal felt a soft smile spread across his face, despite how wrong it was in the situation.

**Kanagawa Town Park**

Roko had no idea why they were here, since no one would tell him. After the movie Marui had leapt to his feet and declared they were going to the park, everyone nodding in agreement except Roko himself. It was clear they had plotted all of this in advance, but he didn't mind, since he felt kind of touched that they were putting in effort for him.

Touched. That's how he felt. He could see that they all cared for him, which for Roko felt rather alien. His life had been endless streams of 'mute boy' over and over again, and people looking at him like he was a freak. Ever since he had been diagnosed with speech disorder he could say he'd never had one real friend, other than Ryoma, though he didn't really count.

But today he could see the genuine care that everyone had. From their gifts – which he would definitely use in the near future – to how Jackal allowed him to rest on him. It was rather embarrassing, and looking back on it Roko wondered what had honestly possessed him to do such a pathetic thing, but the fact that Jackal allowed it erased all other concerns. He could see as clear as day that they cared about him, and that was something Roko rarely experienced.

"Here we are" Marui chirped suddenly, and Roko stopped with the rest of the group and raised an eyebrow. They were at the top of a short hill, underneath a large but leafless tree with a single park bench in front of it.

"It'll be a few moments now, we timed it well" Yanagi stated, and Roko raised an eyebrow at him as the rest of the group moved to sit down on the bench, and Roko followed. It ended up with Sanada sat at the end with Roko next to him, followed by Kirihara and then Niou on the end, with the rest of the team standing behind the bench as they watched the horizon.

It occurred to Roko in that moment that New Year would be soon, and he immediately felt like an idiot for not realising that before.

"Five" Yanagi suddenly said, and Roko's eye widened. It was happening already?

"Four"

"Three". Roko forced the irrational anxiety from his face and put on his passive mask as he watched the horizon.

"Two"

"One"

And exactly on cue the first streak of sparkling light shot up into the sky like a shooting star, exploding in the air in a colourful array of reds and yellows, quickly followed by another, and another and another, and suddenly the sky was lit up in a dazzling array of all the colours in the rainbow, and Roko smiled softly, keeping his cool expression in place. The sky continued to light up with dazzling blues and reds and greens and all sorts of colours that made the dreary winter park light up in colour.

"Happy Birthday, Echizen" Kirihara said from next to him, and Roko glanced at him from the corner of his eye with the warmest expression he'd ever given.

He was here on his birthday with his teammates on a park bench watching the sky light up in all the colours of the rainbow without a care in the world, and for the first time in a long time Roko was truly happy, all other concerns forgotten.

_Dad was right after all. Japan is different_

_A good different?_ His consciousness asked, and Roko scanned the people around him, all watching the lit-up sky with looks of awe and happiness, all here for him.

_Yeah_, was Roko's only mental reply. No more needed to be said.

**Time skip to start of new term next chap :) Tennis times ahead!**


	52. Spring Term

**Few things:**

**First of all I am in London most of this week for a fine art trip, and then most of my week will be catching up on notes, homework and projects, so no chap for a few days**

**Secondly, thanks to xDarkxKurokox for new fan art, which I LOVE.**

**Finally, thanks for your reviews of chap 51, which I thought was kind of lukewarm, but your comments made me happy**

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

Roko watched carefully and with focused concentration as Marui bounced the ball on the ground at the baseline. Once, twice, before grabbing it and throwing it into the air, and slamming it viciously towards him. Roko was already moving, swinging the racket and countering the serve quickly and set it to the corner of Marui's court. Marui was there in an instant, swinging the racket low and returning with a Rising Shot, sending it flying towards the centre of Roko's court. Roko reached it easily and returned the ball, allowing the ball to slide down the racket, applying rotation before returning it smoothly to Marui. Marui was in front of the ball immediately, and returned it quickly to the left corner of Roko's court, but he didn't bother moving, just watching as the ball curved towards him, and he simply tapped the ball with his racket, sending it barely over the net, and the ball bounced with a dull thud on Marui's court.

"Game, Echizen! 4-5!" the umpire called, and Marui looked at the ball for a moment and then sighed, the carefree smile back on his face.

"Not bad, Echizen" he called across the court, and Roko just nodded in acknowledgement, moving to the baseline. It was his turn to serve, and he would take the next game.

Roko bounced the ball rhythmically on the ground before grabbing it in his left hand and throwing it into the air, jumping into the air after it and hitting it with his right hand, sending the Bait Serve flying towards Marui. However Marui had already seen it enough times, and he quickly stepped forward, countering the Bait Serve with a low Rising Shot before it could bounce, sending it towards Roko's opposite corner before he could react.

"0-15!"

"That won't work on me anymore, Echizen" Marui declared proudly, and Roko narrowed his eye in thought. Changing the angle of the Bait Serve wouldn't work, since it needs to bounce first. He could use the Lightning Bolt, but he only wanted to use that to decide the game, since it was much more difficult to play with an aching arm. If he used the Lightning Bolt to take this game there would be no way he could use it afterward, and so Roko frowned in annoyance. He'd have to play it safe for now.

Roko took his position on the baseline, bouncing the ball on the ground before throwing it into the air and hitting it normally. Marui moved and countered the ball easily, sending it toward Roko's opposite corner, and Roko was sprinting there in an instant, reaching the ball and returning it quickly toward Marui. Marui almost lazily returned it to Roko's opposite corner, and Roko turned on his heel and sprinted towards the corner, reaching it with half a second to spare and instead of returning it, he tapped the ball with the edge of his racket, lobbing it high into the air. Marui looked up at the ascending ball and didn't hesitate for a second to jump up and smash it down towards the ground, and Roko reached it in an instant, twisting his body whilst catching the ball with his racket and flicking it back in the stance of Higuma Otoshi.

Marui just moved back to the baseline quickly and returned the ball easily, much to Roko's frustration, and he moved quickly to reach the ball and returned it to Marui. Marui angled his racket slightly down and tapped the ball, sending a drop shot towards Roko, and Roko moved to the net in an instant to return it.

Except the ball landed on the net, and Roko realised what was happening in an instant. The ball, as if it had a life of its own, glided smoothly down the net and reached the other side of the net quickly, and Roko twisted and reached in an attempt to catch it, but it was a millimetre out of reach and the ball dropped off the net and onto the court with a dull thud.

"0-30!"

Roko just looked back at Marui, who stood there with an uncaring expression, blowing a bubble of apple gum and popping it before smiling cockily at him.

"Practice is over!" came a sudden bellow, and Roko and Marui looked up to see their captain standing there with his usual stoic expression and folded arms. Roko mentally sighed in annoyance, since Marui had unofficially won this game. He would get his revenge next time.

"Nice game, Echizen" Marui chirped, slapping his shoulder for emphasis as he jogged toward the regular clubhouse, and Roko shook his head in slight amusement.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Regular Clubhouse**

Roko changed into his uniform slowly and carelessly. English was first period today, and despite the fact Sanada would be there to talk with him it was still a painfully easy subject, and he honestly wondered why he was even in English class. Not that he wanted to leave, he couldn't imagine how awful Sanada's English grades would become if he wasn't around to help him with every question he was given.

"Since we're all here" Yanagi said suddenly, attracting everyone's attention, "I think we should discuss our School Fair activity". Roko looked up at him curiously, in the midst of buttoning up his shirt. School fair? He'd never heard of this before.

"When is that happening? Puri~" Niou asked curiously.

"It's happening at the end of this week, on Friday" Yanagi replied coolly, and Roko frowned at him. Yanagi seemed to notice Roko's frown and cocked his head at him.

"Ah, that's right, you've never participated in our School Fairs before, Echizen" he stated, and the team glanced at Roko. Roko simply nodded in response.

"The School Fair is a system where each club in the school has to participate in a certain activity, randomly picked from a hat" Yanagi explained, and Roko frowned at him but nodded. That sounded simple enough.

"So we as the tennis regulars will play the centrepiece in our ac-"

"It sucks" Kirihara interrupted acidly, and Roko frowned at him. Yanagi cleared his throat for emphasis.

"Yes, thank you Akaya, for that addition" he said solemnly, and Kirihara turned to him.

"It does!" he exclaimed, "We just get swarmed by fangirls when we're trying to do what we're supposed to!". No one argued with Kirihara, so it must be true, and Roko simply rolled his eyes. He'd seen their fan clubs, from Yukimura's violently obsessive fanclub to Sanada's more quiet and minute fan club, who were all too afraid to approach him but awed by him at the same time.

"He has a point" Niou added, "We can never do our jobs".

"Well then" Yanagi said, "This should be extra difficult". The team collectively raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are we doing this time?" Jackal asked almost reluctantly. There was a long pause, and Yanagi visibly frowned.

"The Butlers Café"

Roko raised an eyebrow. The Butlers Café? What was that? Though judging by the looks of absolute horror on the faces of the regulars – even Sanada looked horrified – he had to guess that it was bad. Very bad.

"You're kidding" Marui stated.

"I am not" Yanagi replied smoothly.

And the clubroom fell into an eerie silence, and Roko frowned before turning to Sanada, making signs at him which he noticed.

"_What's that?"_

"The Butlers Café is an activity where a group takes over the cafeteria" Sanada explained, "The idea is that the members of the club act as the chefs, making drinks and food for the customers"

"But the catch is" Yanagi added, "That we will act as the waiters. The Butlers Café is called so because the waiters must dress up like butlers. Customers who come in can request a specific waiter to take their order and bring them their food"

Oh. Now Roko understood why everyone was horrified. It sounded like a dumb idea, but more importantly it sounded like a horde of rabid fangirls would be visiting in the near future.

"We're going to die" Kirihara mumbled, and for once Sanada didn't scold him for being negative, frowning even deeper than usual. Roko just watched half-amusedly at how the regulars stood there horrified, as if they had just witnessed a mass murder.

Roko decided to ignore them and went back to changing quickly. He decided that English being next was a good thing; it would give him time to think things over, since it was practically a free period. He never paid attention in English and just completed the work when it was given to him.

_This should be fun_, his consciousness stated amusedly, _You'll get to watch them suffer by the hands of their fan clubs _

_It will, _Roko mentally agreed, _and the best part is that I get to just watch_

_What do you mean?_

Roko mentally scoffed at the question.

_Do you actually think that anyone will request me?_

_Stranger things have happened. You found Marui strangling Niou on your birthday._

Roko smiled ever so softly in amusement. He remembered that moment well.

_Don't get your hopes up_, he mentally replied.

**Class 3A – English**

Echizen wasn't even looking at the board as the teacher explained the lesson for today. Sanada wasn't really surprised, since Echizen knew enough English to pass this class anyway, and so he left it, paying attention to the teacher who was explaining the advanced structure of past tense verbs.

Sanada withheld a groan and focused the best he could on the lesson. He couldn't just slack off and let Echizen help him, he wouldn't be around forever to help him with English. He knew that he would have to leave next year and Echizen wouldn't be around anymore to help him, so as much as he didn't want to Sanada paid enrapt attention.

Eventually the teacher ended his lecture and started to hand out worksheets, which Echizen completed in less than three minutes and then continued to stare at nothing deep in thought, eliciting a frown from Sanada.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked bluntly, and Echizen glanced at him.

"_The School Fair"_

Sanada did his best not to groan out loud at the mere mention. This year would be hell, undeniable, absolute hell, and the worst part was that Yukimura wasn't even here to help them. He could imagine Yukimura gloating in hospital right now.

"Don't talk about that" he huffed in annoyance, and Echizen grinned mischievously at him.

"_Have fun"_ his hands said simply, and Sanada frowned at him.

"You're going to be part of this too" he pointed out, and Echizen just rolled his eyes.

"_Do you really think anyone will request me? I'll just pick up empty plates"_ his hands stated, and Sanada paused. He did have a point there, since Echizen didn't have a fan club like the rest of the regulars. Even if people didn't say 'mute boy' out loud, they still saw him the same, and no one was interested in a mute freshman. The thought made Sanada unconsciously clench his fists in anger before he unclenched them and looked at Echizen flatly.

"You're being negative" he stated. Echizen just looked at him with a bored expression, and Sanada knew he wasn't convinced at all.

"_Whatever you say"_ his hands stated, and Sanada frowned at him in annoyance.

"_Tarundarou_" he muttered, but Echizen wasn't even looking at him anymore, and Sanada huffed before turning to his worksheet and recalled the lesson as he answered the questions on the paper.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall**

Yamura Matsuda watched with satisfaction as her music club assembled and took their places in the seats for the lesson to begin. The Music Club wasn't a very big club, in fact it was one of the smallest, only having fifteen members in total, but she could tell that each member was passionate and enjoyed the club, and that was enough for her.

She brushed back her shoulder-length auburn hair with her hand and waited for her class to quiet.

"Before we begin our newest project" she began, "We must discuss our Music Transfer Programme". There was an immediate chorus of whispers, and Yamura just waited for them to quiet.

"The programme will involve one student here visiting another school to test out their music teaching and to demonstrate their skills to the school. The point of this programme is to give the students a wider berth of options for a music-based career. The school that the programme will involve will be Hyotei Gauken in Tokyo". There was another chorus of whispers, much louder now, and Yamura just smiled amusedly, moving to her desk and taking a bowler hat she had already filled with paper slips.

"Hyotei Gakuen is a prestigious school" she continued when she moved back in front of her class, "Their music programme is the best for middle-school students in the country, and if you demonstrate your skills well enough, you might even get a scholarship there".

Yamura then reached into her bowler hat and pulled out a single slip of paper, and she felt a jolt of excitement. The fun of not knowing made it even more exciting for her.

"And the student who will be visiting Hyotei Gakuen is…"

She opened the paper and scanned the name.

"Echizen Roko"

Yamura looked up at him, as did the rest of the class, and Echizen's face portrayed nothing, completely blank, but Yamura didn't mind. She liked Echizen, he was much quieter than her other students and was extremely talented at composing music.

"Congratulations" she said with a nod of her head, and Echizen just nodded in response.

"We'll discuss this later" she said, "But for now, we have a group project to do!" she exclaimed in excitement, whilst the class collectively frowned at her.

"And now for the pairings!" she exclaimed.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Music Hall**

Why?

Why Hyotei?

Why him?

Roko didn't know much about Hyotei, but he had been there when Seigaku had played against them in the District Tournament finals, so he knew a few things:

One, it was a snobby rich kid school

Two, the tennis regulars were worshipped almost as much as the ones in Rikkaidai

Three, their tennis captain was a total airhead narcissist.

That was enough reason to dislike them, and so Roko was reluctant about the whole thing. But he supposed this was a music exchange programme, not tennis, so he wouldn't see them anyway. It gave him brief hope, but the fact he had to go to a different school for a day and basically be put under immense pressure playing for their music teacher wasn't exactly appealing.

Roko just mentally sighed in exasperation. He couldn't do anything about it anyway.

"Echizen"

Roko half turned to the sound of the voice, unsurprised to find his partner for the group project, Oharu Hamada, looking at him with a soft smile. She was a second year with long auburn hair like Yamura-sensei's, deep brown eyes, sharp features and thin lips.

"What kind of piece do you want to play?" she asked, and Roko tilted his head slightly in thought. He had plenty of pieces that he had composed himself that they could use, but for this group project the pairs must perform a piece that was composed by a musician, so it left him pretty stumped. After a moment he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper that he kept with him and a pen, writing on the paper quickly.

_I'm not really sure, but I can bring some pieces as suggestions tomorrow, _the paper said and Oharu smiled and nodded.

"Ok" she replied happily, "I'll do that too". Roko nodded to himself, and Oharu frowned at him.

"So…" she began, "What are we supposed to do today?" she asked, and Roko frowned. That was a good point.

"Do you have any pieces I can play?" she asked curiously, and Roko paused and then nodded, getting up from his seat and moving to his cello case where he kept some pieces he composed in his free time.

Oharu and Roko were a good pair, in a musical sense, because while Roko's talent was composing music, Oharu's talent was reading it and playing without practice. Basically it meant you could put any sort of piece in front of her and she could play it perfectly without any sort of experience or rehearsal. It at least made the task of rehearsing so much easier, since Roko could play his pieces off by heart, since he composed them, and Oharu needed no rehearsal.

Roko fished into the pocket of his cello case and withdrew several sheets of paper covered in musical notes, and moved back toward Oharu, handing them to her, who took them gladly and scanned them before nodding to herself.

"This is good Echizen" she noted, decoding the notes in her head, "Your music is really challenging and racy". Roko smiled to himself. Oharu was one of those people who loved a challenge and a fast-paced life, which matched rather poorly to her choice of instrument, but then again, Roko played the cello, so he couldn't really argue.

Oharu nodded to herself, moving from her chair to take a stand from the corner of the hall, carrying it back and placing it in front of her. She then bent down and grabbed her violin case, opening it and extracting the small wooden polished violin and her bow, resting the instrument on her chin and placing the bow on the strings.

**Rikkaidai Fuzoku Tennis Courts**

"Keep running! You still have ten more laps!"

Akaya mentally cursed his captain as he continued running with his teammates. The Regionals would begin in a week, and Sanada expected nothing but flawless victory, which meant even more training for the team. By this point they were all panting and sweating, but they continued on in fear of Sanada's wrath. Akaya wished Yukimura would come back; he wasn't nearly as brutal as Sanada was, because he trusted the team to play their best no matter what.

He noticed how the non-regulars were playing practice matches in the tennis courts and he scowled. Why was it that they were running laps whilst the non-regulars hogged the tennis courts? Shouldn't _they_ be running laps instead?

"Calm down Akaya" Yanagi said smoothly from next to him, and Akaya looked at him curiously. Despite the fact he was keeping pace, breathing heavily and sweating Yanagi somehow managed to talk so smoothly, which always confused Akaya. He nodded respectfully for his senpai and said nothing more, focusing on getting his laps done quickly.

Sanada's training regime was brutal. In fact it was more than brutal; it was just plain torture, though Akaya didn't dare say a word against him, and so he continued running.

In the end they somehow managed to finish without dying, and Akaya along with most of the team were on the ground panting. Almost immediately Sanada was standing on top of them with a harsh judgemental frown.

"You can't stop now!" he ordered, "We have to keep training until we win!". Akaya really wanted to crawl into a hole and die at this point, but he groaned and reluctantly pulled himself up along with most of the team.

Echizen then took a step forward, his face plastered in sweat but his breathing even, and he made signs to Sanada, and Akaya frowned at him. Sanada scowled harshly at Echizen.

"What are you talking about?" he asked bluntly, and Echizen just made more signs to him, whilst the rest of the team watched helplessly. Sanada scowled even deeper at Echizen.

"If you think my training is too harsh then you can leave" Sanada said bluntly, and Akaya blinked. Was Echizen telling Sanada his training was too harsh? He really did have guts. Echizen's face didn't change, and he made more signs. Sanada looked at him for a moment with a frown, and then he glanced at Akaya and the team, who were all trying to stand up and maintain their breathing with sweat all over them, and then back down to Echizen.

"If you like I can assign you their laps" he offered harshly, but Echizen didn't even blink, his face as hollow as usual, and he simply made more signs to Sanada.

Sanada stared him down with his trademark death glare, and Akaya was sure that Sanada would kill him, but Echizen wasn't even fazed, staring back hollowly, like he didn't have a soul, and after a brief staring contest Sanada sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine" he muttered, turning to the team, "You all have a five minute break, but afterward you will be playing practice matches"

Akaya almost laughed at how relieved he was, and Sanada turned back to Echizen and glared at him for a moment before walking away, and Echizen just shrugged and walked back to the team.

"Thank you Echizen" Kirihara breathed and Echizen nodded in response. The rest of the team nodded in thanks too, and Echizen just walked away towards the water fountains.

"Interesting" Yanagi stated between breaths, "Sanada did not punish Echizen for speaking up at him"

"That kid has guts" Niou declared, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Let's go get a drink" Jackal said, and the team straightened themselves and walked in a group back to the clubroom to grab their water bottles. Akaya hung at the back at the group, silently sending Echizen a million thanks for saving their lives. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad with Echizen around.


End file.
